The recent Afghan violence over US personnel burning copies of the Quran has fueled ideas that the United States should hasten its withdrawal from the region and it is likely that more critics of the war may jump aboard. However, this is not the first or only time that the US has been called to withdraw earlier. Given the circumstances, it would not be a wise decision.

At a Senate budget hearing yesterday, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta stated that “Our ultimate goal here has to be an Afghanistan that can control and secure itself and make sure that it can never again become a safe haven where terrorists can plan attacks”. If this is our true goal, then a hasty withdrawal would not help to achieve this.

However, a well-trained military that can protect itself is not enough to deem Afghanistan a success. Political stability is more important and a well-trained military becomes inconsequential if there is no solid political framework behind it. The current central government in Kabul remains unpopular and only maintains its control as result of the US/ NATO presence in the region and its budget dependence on foreign aid.

Training an effective military without fixing the political problems of corruption and ineffectiveness prior to leaving the region would be a mistake on the part of the United States. Upon an early departure of the United States, the unstable central government would either use the military to assert their authority or it would collapse due to competing regional and outside interests. Our main goal before leaving Afghanistan should be creating a stable political framework that has both effective and appropriate government structures at both the state and local levels and a government that recognizes the competing regional interests surrounding it.

Setting an earlier withdrawal date would also create issues with the future Taliban negotiations. The earlier withdrawal date may embolden the Taliban to become less serious about negotiations with the US. The Taliban may be resigned to just wait until the pullout occurs.

It appears that the administration and military officials are committed to finishing the mission in Afghanistan and an earlier withdrawal is not likely. Unfortunately, until the majority of US forces leave sometime in 2013 and NATO pulls out in 2014, more events like this may occur again that test the resolve of the United States and Afghan forces. As in the past, calls for an earlier pullout of forces will return once again.

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