Afghanistan

Obama to Lay Out Exit Plan

Won't be as firm as Iraq plan.

“I really hope we can stay away from all this talk of an exit strategy,” Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said on Sunday. He had better not tune into President Obama’s speech on Tuesday night: According to The New York Times, Obama will lay out a timeframe for the United States’ commitment to Afghanistan. “He wants to give a clear sense of both the time frame for action and how the war will eventually wind down,” a senior official tells The Times. Withdrawal will not be tied to specific conditions on the ground nor would it be as firm as the current schedule for withdrawal in Iraq. Apparently, the United States will maintain a presence in part to reassure Pakistan that India will not fill the power vacuum created by a withdrawal.