2016 Departure Date

[Shah-i-Kot]

On the recommendation by US military commanders on a post-2014 presence, Obama took the lowest demand of 10,000, and downsized it by 200 to make it 9,800. This way to neoconservative Republican critics, he can say that he has left about 10,000 troops in post-2014 Afghanistan. For the Democratic base and American population which is overwhelmingly supportive of a faster US withdrawal, his decision for a complete US withdrawal in 2016 meets their demands, delayed as it is. The next Democratic candidate for the US presidency in 2016 which seems to be Hillary Clinton would tell voters she is fully supportive of the complete US withdrawal from Afghanistan which would be complete by the time she takes office.

In my opinion, the only Republican candidate that has a solid chance is Rand Paul, and he is opposed to foreign intervention/military engagement. It doesn't seem the Republican party has changed their unpopular positions, and questionable whether they will support Rand Paul.

[Cobra]

Afghanistan is not a country, its a forward operating base or FOP for US troops.

[khushal]

So why is Obama revealing all this at this time?
http://www.businessinsider.com/marin...anistan-2014-5

[Shah-i-Kot]

Abdullah Abdullah is already expressing disappointment in this decision.

http://www.france24.com/en/20140529-afghanistan-abdullah-usa-troops-exit-obama-france-24/

My bet is that Pakistan (Pakistan military) will go bankrupt post-2016. This will be interesting to note. For the last 14 years, Pakistan met its yearly budget by US payments of about $1.5 billion annually for the NATO supply lines to US/NATO in Afghanistan. Its all quite hilarious.

After US withdrawal, with increasing US domestic expenses, it is certain that will go down to little or nothing at all. Maybe a token $1 million per year. Pakistan will obviously even take that.

[Shah-i-Kot]

How far past 2016, will Pakistan go bankrupt? There will be no billions in US payments for NATO supply lines which has been Pakistan's method of meeting its budget.

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Abdullah Abdullah is already expressing disappointment in this decision.

http://www.france24.com/en/20140529-afghanistan-abdullah-usa-troops-exit-obama-france-24/

My bet is that Pakistan (Pakistan military) will go bankrupt post-2016. This will be interesting to note. For the last 14 years, Pakistan met its yearly budget by US payments of about $1.5 billion annually for the NATO supply lines to US/NATO in Afghanistan. Its all quite hilarious.

After US withdrawal, with increasing US domestic expenses, it is certain that will go down to little or nothing at all. Maybe a token $1 million per year. Pakistan will obviously even take that.

Please provide me a source confirming that PA recieve 1.5Billion dollars each year(As far as i know the CSF expected is only 350Million dollars).

Pakistan army known budget is (7.5BILLION DOLLARS official budget+2.1Billion dollars nuclear program+100Million dollars suparco+1billion+(some source's quote 150Billion pkr or 1.5Billion dollars) of the pension and other related expenses from the national budget for development).

In short this is more like 11+Billion dollars,Now explain me how will odd 350Million dollars CSF be the judge of possible Pakistan army bankruptcy?When even teh national kitty is said to see a increase of 35% in foriegn reserve's for the next year.

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And i got the source,Pakistan recieved 361Million dollars for security in 2013 and is said to recieve only 281Million dollars for 2014-15 and the source is hardly 2 months older

Under the security related assistance, the Obama Administration has retained the 2013 level of $280 million of foreign military assistance for the year 2015.

For 2014, Obama had proposed $300 million in foreign military financing for Pakistan.

Please support your claim always with a credible source.

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

On Topic:

USA need to stay,Even under the worst american imposed govt the future of Afghanistans still will be much much brighter than under taliban or even a coalition govt between taliban and govt.

USA stay in Afghanistan also mean the world support for Afghanistan including financial support

[tripledouble]

How far past 2016, will Pakistan go bankrupt? There will be no billions in US payments for NATO supply lines which has been Pakistan's method of meeting its budget.

Pakistan will sell oil

[Shah-i-Kot]

Definition of pathetic right here, and they leave empty handed even after Raheel Sharif spends a week asking for continuation of US payments to Pakistan army after withdrawal.

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/16/pakistan_to_obama_don_t_pull_out_the_troops_from_afghanistan_just_yet

but said they also gave no indication that they were willing to consider changing their withdrawal plans. "They do not say they will re-evaluate it, but they do not tell us, 'no, you are wrong,'" he said.

[Shah-i-Kot]

Still want to know from all the pro-War peeps about what happened to US was never going to leave Afghanistan due to strategic reason?

What happened haha?

[Shah-i-Kot]

Please just give me something to laugh about!!!

[Da Bannu Mazdigar]

Please just give me something to laugh about!!!

They are not leaving,my "Nato Supply Line" Friend

[Insight]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-agrees-to-slow-us-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/2015/03/24/6acd4834-d247-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html

President Obama said Tuesday that he would freeze U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan at 9,800 through the end of the year but vowed to end the American war by the end of his presidency.
Obama announced that he would slow the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops after a White House meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The decision to keep more U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year was driven by the administration’s confidence in Ghani, whom Obama praised repeatedly. Relations between Ghani’s predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and the U.S. government had been steadily deteriorating for years. Obama lauded Ghani, who took office in September, for taking on “the mantle of commander in chief in a way that we have not seen in the past from an Afghan president.”
But Obama also made it clear that he wouldn’t depart from his current plan to close the remaining U.S. bases in Afghanistan and consolidate the remaining U.S. forces in Kabul by the end of 2016.
“Afghanistan is still a dangerous place,” Obama said. “The way it’s going to become less dangerous is by Afghan security forces* being capable of keeping law and order and security in the country, and that is not going to happen if foreign forces* are continually relied upon.”

[Insight]

All Ghani achieved was slowing the pace of the withdrawal of the remaining 9,800 US troops from Afghanistan. He had requested that Obama stay past 2016, a request that was denied.

Obama as Commander in Chief has rejected pleas from his own US generals (Dempsey, Austin), and he did not listen to Ghani or Raheel Sharif (who made the same request several months ago on an official visit).

How many more times will they keep asking to stay?

[Insight]

They are not leaving,my "Nato Supply Line" Friend

Man, you guys really are entertaining. When Obama signed SPA in 2012, stating US would stay, you all accepted his word as fact. Suddenly when he decided on a full US withdrawal by 2016, you say he is lying. You know how many billions US has lost in this war! Do you have the money to pay for it?

Do you see how inconsistent your thought process is? I take the facts on the ground, and yes Obama, Commander in Chief, made the greatest decision for a FULL US withdrawal HAHAHAHAHAHAH. Keep repeating it to yourself, and then think hard about why you are so delusional.