USA TODAY: …Analysts say the administration is trying to find a middle ground in an election year between touting the drawdown while assuring the region it is committed to the country. “I think they will continue to walk this middle line,” said Michael O’Hanlon, an analyst with Brookings Institution….
The Obama administration has said the failure to reach a status-of-forces agreement with Iraq led to withdrawal of U.S. forces there last year. Critics such as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have said the failure was because of White House foot-dragging.
Analysts say they do not expect a similar result in Afghanistan because President Hamid Karzai said he wants some U.S. forces to remain. “Karzai needs us more than the Iraqis did,” O’Hanlon said. … (more)
