Predictable

Afghanistan and Pakistan are central to the fight against terror. That's not what I say, that's what Obama says. Somehow, though, he believes we should also start pulling out our troops from that area in 18 months.

The New York Times reports this has rattled our allies there:

President Obama’s timetable for American forces in Afghanistan rattled nerves in that country and in Pakistan on Wednesday, as American diplomats worked to convince the two countries at the center of the president’s war strategy that the United States would not cut and run [....]

In Pakistan, Mr. Obama’s declaration fed longstanding fears that America would abruptly withdraw, leaving Pakistan to fend for itself.

Many in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, argued that the short timetable diminished any incentive for Pakistan to cut ties to Taliban militants who were its allies in the past, and whom Pakistan might want to use to shape a friendly government in Afghanistan after the American withdrawal.

“The most serious issue, as far as we see it, is the exit date,” said a senior Pakistani security official who spoke anonymously because he was not allowed to speak publicly. “It will have serious implications.” [....]

Leaders in both countries, at least publicly, offered near silence or only a tepid embrace of the Obama plan on Wednesday.

If Obama does not appear to have the stomach to do what's needed to prevail, why would anyone there publicly support the U.S.? If I were an Afghan, I wouldn't put my family in danger by siding with a country that apparently can't wait to leave.