Interesting article in the NY Times regarding Vice President Joe Biden’s role in the White House in regards to Afghanistan.
Mr. Biden does not favor abandoning Afghanistan, but his approach would reject the additional troops sought by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and leave the American force in Afghanistan roughly the same, 68,000 troops. Rather than emphasize protecting the Afghan population, he would accelerate training of Afghans to take over the fight while hunting Al Qaeda in Pakistan using drones and special forces. His view has caught on with many liberals in his party.
Biden goes further in his thinking that we are focusing on the wrong country. (Note, the debacle in Iraq is something our troops are paying for every day. The fact the Bush/Cheney took their eye off the ball is still a horrendous mistake.)
When Mr. Biden visited Afghanistan in January for a third time, he returned increasingly convinced that America’s national interest lay in Pakistan. With fewer than 100 Qaeda fighters left in Afghanistan, he reasoned, the nation was investing disproportionate resources in the wrong country.