Secretary of State John Kerry recently spoke at the Oxford Union and addressed a range of issues from climate change to extremism to political corruption. During the question and answer after Kerry’s remarks, one audience member asked the secretary of state to name the “proudest achievements of the Obama administration” now that President Obama’s eight years in office are coming to an end.
Kerry seemed to be somewhat taken off guard by the question, but quickly named three issues in which Kerry himself had been intimately involved: the Paris climate change agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, and the reestablishment of ties with Cuba. But then he also named Afghanistan:
In December 2009, President Obama announce the “way forward” for the US in Afghanistan. The three objective he set forth were “denying al-Qa’ida a safe haven, reversing the Taliban’s momentum, and strengthening the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan’s future” and to “support the Government of Afghanistan as it moves towards full responsibility for security across Afghanistan by the end of 2014.”
The reality has fallen somewhat short of these goals. In April, CNN reported that Afghanistan and U.S. officials were concerned that “al Qaeda is ‘very active’ and a ‘big threat’ in the country,” and that there was “concern over growing ties between al Qaeda and the Taliban.” In addition, the Washington Post reported in January:
Top U.S. military commanders, who only a few months ago were planning to pull the last American troops out of Afghanistan by year’s end, are now quietly talking about an American commitment that could keep thousands of troops in the country for decades.
More recently the Post reported in April that “[t]he Afghan army, left on its own, had failed to live up to expectations.”
Just last week, the White House put out a statement at the U.S.-Nordic Leaders’ Summit and mentioned Afghanistan:
However, the statement did not include any specifics as far as continued US efforts and involvement in the country.
When last asked about the situation in the Middle East a few weeks ago, presidential advisor Ben Rhodes noted: “We’ve significantly reduced the U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’ve significantly rolled back al Qaeda.” Rhodes was not pressed on specifics.
