I have heard several people complain about Obama setting a date for the start of an American draw down in Afghanistan. Typical is this comment by Washington Post columnist Colbert King: “I am hard pressed to understand why al-Qaeda … and … the Taliban would stick around for the next 18 months making themselves a vastly outnumbered, living sacrifice .. when all they have to do is hide out until we’re supposed to leave?”
I am not great military strategist, but it seems to me that it would be great if the Taliban gave us an open field for 18 months to operate in without serious opposition. If that really works, maybe after the 18 months, we could announce a delay of 2 more years, but promise that this time we really mean it - just to see if the Taliban would fall for it a second time.
