Afghanistan: How Soon Should We Leave?

Now that the Bilateral Security Agreement is signed the worry about having to go to the "zero option" goes away - as well as the concerns of how Afghanistan would go it alone without the help of the international community. The next big question is how soon should we leave? Republicans are asking President Obama to reconsider his withdrawal plan. The example of the escalation of violence in Iraq has many pointing out that the same can happen in Afghanistan if we leave too soon. Current plans are to have the troop levels down to 9,800 by the end of 2014. Those troops that remain will conduct the Security Force Assistance mission and counterterrorism operations. Read more on this topic in "Afghan deal rekindles questions on how soon US should exit", Stars and Stripes, October 1, 2014.