It's time to pivot, President Obama. Given three-quarters of the American public - including the majority of Republican voters - what they have said they want: a substantial withdrawal of US combat troops from Afghanistan this year. Announce a real end date for US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, as Senators Barbara Boxer, Dick Durbin, Kirsten Gillibrand, Sherrod Brown and Tom Harkin have demanded. The single greatest contribution you can make to peace in Afghanistan now is to make it clear to Afghan actors that the US is really leaving, not trying to maintain troops and bases in Afghanistan past 2014. Make clear that the US is really leaving, so that peace talks can proceed. Download article by: Robert Naiman, Truthout in PDF format.
