Will Obama Regret Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal? - Cliff Judy

President Obama's legacy will certainly be an interesting and historic one, even by commander-in-chief standards.   

But as he visited troops in Hawaii Christmas Day and proclaimed an end to the war in Afghanistan, some are already debating whether his comments will prove regrettable. (Video via CNN)

"We've been at war now for almost 13 years — over 13 years," said Obama on Fox News. "Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. We are safer. It's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again."

However, as the U.S. gradually withdraws troops to about 10,000 by the end of 2014, half that a year later, and then a normal embassy presence by the end of 2016, stability is still something Afghanistan's struggling to grasp.

This was the deadliest year for Afghans since the U.S. invaded in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. NBC's numbers show the country is on pace for 10,000 civilian deaths and 5,000 deaths of Afghan soldiers. (Video via ODN)

The Taliban is generally considered to be active in most of the country and shows no signs of slowing its attacks, especially with less resistance to deal with once fewer U.S. troops are around. (Video viaAl Jazeera)

An anonymous Afghan battalion commander told The Washington Post in May, "Leaving in 2016 is not responsible."  

Even India's prime minister Narendra Modi urged the U.S. not to pull troops in a September speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

As a writer for The Atlantic put it, "What these doomsayers understand is that Afghanistan is just as politically and militarily dysfunctional as Iraq, only poorer."

"Afghanistan itself as we look into the future is going to be messy," Steve Clemons of The Atlantic told MSNBC. "We see a resurgent Taliban in areas where the United States has left — parts of Afghanistan. And we see a rise of warlordism, which we rarely talk about."

To be fair, many analysts have pointed out Obama's comments were talking about terrorist attacks on the U.S. and our country being safely removed from the situation in Afghanistan. Read More at reporternews