Withdrawal Difficult at Some Afghan Outposts

The draw down and withdrawal of U.S. forces is forging ahead in Afghanistan. This is happening whether some areas are considered "secure" or not. In many parts of Helmand and Kandahar some remote areas are still contested and plans to hand-over security to the Afghans as U.S. forces depart are just that - "plans". In reality many of these areas will be ceded to Taliban control because the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are not good enough (at least not yet) to keep the Taliban in check. Read a recent newspaper account about how the "withdrawal process" is going at one outpost in southern Afghanistan. See "U.S. Military Faces Fire as It Pulls Out of Afghanistan", The New York Times, February 15, 2013 at this link.