Afghanistan: fractioned withdrawal??

It seems to me from the news that various of the countires involved in the war in Afghanistan (US, UK, DK - maybe more) are debating withdrawal with their populations. Fine. Populations should have something to say, obviously.

What confuses me is that the war parties to not seem to talk to each other about withdrawal.

I am not in favour of that war for a number of reasons, but it seems to me that if a group of countries start it together, they should finish it together, rather than let it fall apart.

My apologies if this has been discussed on some thread, I did not find any but I might have overlooked it.

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Originally Posted by thir

What confuses me is that the war parties to not seem to talk to each other about withdrawal.

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Good point. I suspect there is much private communication among the war parties and kept private for good reasons. Letting an adversary know what your withdrawal plans are is detrimental to any combat effort.

Here is an article that highlights some of the internal conflict that occurs when withdrawal plans are announced.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=37657
McChrystal Told the Truth - By Rowan Scarborough

FTA:

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The military is finally telling the unvarnished truth about President Obama's dysfunctional national security team.
[...snip...]
[There is] an ongoing dispute between the White House and its generals that shows why McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, had grown so frustrated.

The debate centers on when exactly troops will begin leaving Afghanistan. Every time a Pentagon figure, such as Gen. David Petraeus, the overall region commander, testified that Obama's July 2011 withdrawal date does not mean the U.S. is abandoning Afghanistan, there was a White House official saying nearly the opposite.

The result is a badly mangled message to Afghan troops and villagers who think America is going to leave them to the mercies of the Taliban, which shows no mercy. Thus, McChrystal's counter-insurgency strategy of winning over the population cannot possibly succeed as long as the White House undercuts it.

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I hear what you’re saying thir, but I don’t think the UK will be leaving for a long time, and Obama can play games with his Generals, but if he pulls out of Afghanistan it will be classed as a retreat not a withdrawal. Then he can bet his ass that for leaving the UK and the other forces there to do Bush’s dirty work, he will find his ass high and dry when those countries he left behind leave him to sort Bush’s other fuck up in Iraq on his own. The PM and the Military chiefs know that to leave the Afghan people to the mercy of the Taliban, which we all know is the fighting arm of Al Qeada would be a disaster. The Pakistan forces had to beat the Taliban out of their northern towns only a few months ago, leave Afghanistan and they will take a hold in Pakistan as well. If Obama thinks he can quit now then his brain is really fucked, because the rest of the world and the Afghan people won’t let him.

Regards ian 2411