Barack Obama, who as a presidential candidate stressed his opposition to the war in Iraq, is now a war president trying to win both in Afghanistan and in the court of public opinion.
Joining me today were the leaders of Obama’s national security team: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The two spent this week answering criticism of the new war strategy - both from Democrats opposed to escalating the war and Republicans opposed to any timeline for withdrawal.
Regardless of the July 2011 benchmark Obama mentioned in his speech Tuesday night, Gates told me that U.S. forces do not expect to all pack up and leave Afghanistan 18 months from now. “They are not leaving - in July of 2011,” he said. “Some handful or some small number or whatever the conditions permit, will begin to withdraw at that time.”
That’s the question both Gates and Clinton have been hammered on all week by Congressional committees: How long are we going to be there? Clinton indicated that, at best, July 2011 will be the beginning of the end – a full transition out of the country will likely take five years.
In his response, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) remained critical of any indication of a timetable for withdrawal. “To send the message that you're going to leave at a certain date is not the way to convince the enemy that you're there to beat 'em,” he said.
Sen. McCain also weighed in on Sarah Palin, Ben Bernanke and Osama bin Laden. Plus, Bob Woodward of The Washington Post and Tom Friedman of The New York Times gave their analyses of the U.S. future in Afghanistan. For Friedman, the question is not how we end in Afghanista, but how we start.
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