America's Post-2014 Afghanistan Role Must Accomplish 3 Things

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Human Events:

President Barack Obama wants to speed up the departure of our troops from Afghanistan no matter the consequences for that country, the region and American interests. Leaving prematurely will only make our inevitable return more costly.

Last week Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the White House to discuss America’s end game in Afghanistan. That plan was originally struck in June 2012 in the form of the Strategic Partnership Agreement that provides for a U.S. military presence after 2014, although the magnitude of our future presence was not specified at the time.

On Nov. 15, 2012 Afghan and American officials began negotiating the particulars of the agreement. Those talks evidently prompted Karzai’s recent Washington trip to deliver his wish list of military equipment and long-term financial aid request ($10 billion per year from the U.S.) as well as to discuss post-2014 American troop strengths, and to deliver a promise to grant American troops legal immunity from Afghan prosecution – a linchpin agreement.