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Re "U.S. Considers Faster Pullout in Afghanistan" (front page, July 9):
While the Obama administration's announcement that it is seriously considering leaving zero American troops past December 2014 is encouraging, this news is soured by a low point in United States-Afghanistan relations.
The current impasse not only reveals the extent of the trust deficit, still growing since President Hamid Karzai balked at talks in Qatar, but creates considerable obstacles to cooperation as well.
Publicly venting this discord endangers future prospects for peace. President Karzai is now in a position where he must either spurn American support or appear weak before foreign dictates.
Fissures among American and Afghan leaders reinforce the Taliban's determination to fight on through the withdrawal, and offer them an opportunity to showcase government futility.
With both parties hedging from negotiations and the United States threatening to cut and run, an anxious, excluded and war-weary Afghan society awaits its fate.
ADAM COHEN
Washington, July 9, 2013
The writer is program assistant for foreign policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
To the Editor:
An abrupt withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan would be a recipe for disaster. A zero option would jeopardize the gains made in Afghanistan over the past decade and allow Al Qaeda and the Taliban to reconstitute in parts of the country, from where they could plot against the United States and its allies.
While it is true that President Hamid Karzai has not been a reliable ally, President Obama should decide on the pace of troop withdrawal based on national security needs in South Asia rather than the Afghan president's erratic behavior. After all, President Karzai's term expires next year, and most Afghans back an enduring partnership with the United States.
The West abandoned Afghanistan prematurely after the Soviet withdrawal from the country and paid a heavy price for it. Let us not make that mistake again.
AHMAD MAJIDYAR
Washington, July 9, 2013
The writer is senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute.
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