Intelligence Reports from Afghanistan War Reveal Obama's Withdrawal Announcement Was a Disaster

I'm sure at least some of you remember the constant bombardment that President George W. Bush received during the Iraq War about WHEN the U.S. would withdraw from Iraq and how Bush refused to answer that question. And we all know the price that George W. Bush paid for keeping any and all information to himself - a political price, but in essence his stalwart stance to remain silent eventually led to less U.S. troops being killed and an overall victory in that war.

Fast forward to the new Commander-in-chief, put in office by ill-informed sheep-like American voters who believed a cushy one-liner campaign slogan, who just couldn't wait to tell the whole world EXACTLY when the U.S. would withdraw troops from Afghanistan and what we are seeing is a complete disaster.

From a report at Breitbart:

The US military campaign against the Taliban has failed to destroy the group or pressure its leaders to seek peace, the Washington Post said Wednesday, citing US military and intelligence officials.

The joint CIA-military efforts to target Taliban leaders have caused senior operatives to move more often and increase security. But the impact on the Taliban's highest ranks has been limited, the Post said.

"For senior leadership, not much has changed," the defense official told the newspaper.

"At most we are seeing lines of support disrupted, but it's temporary. They're still setting strategic guidance" for operations against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Taliban operatives have been focusing on President Barack Obama's stated intention to start withdrawing troops in mid-2011.

Taliban operatives, citing leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, tell one another, "The end is near," the officials told the Post.

Look at those last two lines from the story. Yep. Good job, Barack...your "need" to throw a bone to your anti-war fans like CODE PINK and ANSWR have basically doomed much of our operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. And quite frankly, what Obama ended up doing with his novice attempt to take the reins of a military operation was to let down the hard core anti-war elements because he didn't withdraw immediately and also destroyed any hopes of a victory by tipping his hand.

Kind of reminds me of the parent who succumbs to letting the kids eat their Halloween candy as soon as they get home from trick or treating only to deal all night with sick kids.

US campaign to cripple Taliban not working: report


The US military campaign against the Taliban has failed to destroy the group or pressure its leaders to seek peace, the Washington Post said Wednesday, citing US military and intelligence officials.
The intense military campaign, including drone strikes and more commando attacks, has inflicted some temporary setbacks on the Afghan insurgency, the sources told the newspaper, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However US intelligence officials say that captured or killed Taliban commanders are often replaced in days, the insurgents seem content with small scale tactics of intimidation and assassination, and appear confident they can outlast the US troop buildup.

"The insurgency seems to be maintaining its resilience," an unnamed senior Defense Department official involved in war assessments told the Post.

Taliban fighters have consistently shown that they can "reestablish and rejuvenate," sometimes just days after a defeat by US forces, the official said.

According to the Post, the assessments "are consistent across the main spy agencies responsible for analyzing the conflict, including the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency."

The joint CIA-military efforts to target Taliban leaders have caused senior operatives to move more often and increase security. But the impact on the Taliban's highest ranks has been limited, the Post said.

"For senior leadership, not much has changed," the defense official told the newspaper.

"At most we are seeing lines of support disrupted, but it's temporary. They're still setting strategic guidance" for operations against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Taliban operatives have been focusing on President Barack Obama's stated intention to start withdrawing troops in mid-2011.

Taliban operatives, citing leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, tell one another, "The end is near," the officials told the Post.