First the good news. The war in Afghanistan is being won. As our FOX News team saw on our most recent trip through the length and breadth of the country, the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies are being defeated at nearly every turn. Though military operations and police actions are being conducted at their highest pace since the war began a decade ago, coalition, Afghan and civilian casualties continue to decline – even in the midst of “fighting season.” According to U.S. and allied military officers with whom we spoke, Taliban fighters are defecting in greater numbers than ever before. Though our political leaders in Washington won’t use the word, “victory” is within reach.
Now the bad news. The speed and scale of the pullout, withdrawal, redeployment, drawdown – or whatever the Obama administration wants to call it – places all the hard-won gains at risk. Instead of a time frame based on the situation on the ground, the president wants all 33,000 American “surge” troops home by next summer. Everyone – friend and enemy – knows the timing and the number in the pullout are being driven by next year’s U.S. presidential election. [Read more…] about Oliver North on the Afghanistan Pullout