Fox News
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Growing fears ahead of US troop drawdown in Afghanistan

Details

  • Description

    KT McFarland weighs in

  • Duration 4:16
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Editor's Picks

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

You formation from the president on the upcoming troop draw down in Afghanistan.

-- commander in chief is now expected to outline his plan in the stated the union address.

Next week so wait for details on not in the meantime there are some growing fears inside Afghanistan.

That the country's troops are no match -- the country's police force is no match.

For the Taliban without the help.

Yeah KT McFarland is a Fox -- national security analyst former deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration NKT a typical question that.

Maybe for the race but I hope we can start here is how much do we care.

If the Taliban terrorized their own people if.

They don't -- acts.

It's a really tough questions probably the heart of the whole issue.

You know we have now spent ten years and hundreds of billions of dollars and although the American military has done an enormously amazing things we've done everything.

That we have asked seven counterinsurgency.

They've switched to counter terrorism they've done -- all but despite that.

Two things have failed won the Karzai government has failed to stand up.

After ten years they've failed to stand up and adequate police and military as -- just said.

The second thing that's happened is that Pakistan despite Twitty billions of dollars has failed they think played us for suckers and they have failed to shut down.

The Taliban safe havens in Pakistan so at this point.

What is -- that bar for American withdrawal I think you're seeing the president is setting that are real low just can we get out of there without having to shoot her way.

It's an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today about -- it really should have mixed picture if you will send successes for the London police were some concerns as well.

-- I thought it interesting comment by a private -- -- working with the Marines.

Two take it off.

Take away what they -- -- area and he says this we're -- -- take out everything in the US government has paid for and take it out with us this contractor status.

How much do you think money is a factor.

Index in the timeline in every -- Well -- -- again I ask that very same question to wanted to senior marine general science and you know you got I did you Afghanistan level a lot of infrastructure there.

-- -- a little cities with a lot of American equipment.

He's so we're not gonna take that we're not gonna take apart the infrastructure.

-- we are taken every bit of equipment out we hope we get to take it out the cheap -- the land route through Pakistan if not we're gonna fly it out we are not -- one tank behind.

We are not leaving one armored personnel carrier where take -- -- with us.

That's what's going to be long complicated expensive.

If -- -- happened yeah.

Then could we even maintained it will we have an Afghanistan.

If the president desired.

To have several more years for example in the country.

I think -- be really tough you know sequester these automatic cuts that are coming mostly on the back of defense.

And even though we are drawing down in Afghanistan.

The stuff that we're bringing home SF needs to be repaired it isn't.

Inadequate and it's gonna cost money to bring it home so are we making the best decision when it comes to Afghanistan based on the strategy and did to take Danner and -- need to make ourselves more safe.

Or based on the bottom on on the bottom line.

I think at the end of the day Afghanistan -- have failed because our political our political leaders Republican and Democrat and the Afghan political leaders have -- military.

But what's gonna happen is that they're gonna take it out on the military when I came into the Pentagon with the Reagan administration we were horrified at what we saw.

There have been ten years of cuts under Jimmy Carter and Andy after Vietnam and what we found -- planes couldn't fly because airplane pilots didn't have enough -- to be certified.

We -- -- to couldn't -- there was no fuel we had tanks for every tanker work we have once it right next year that we cannibalized but the worst of all.

Was when -- defense cuts happened we took it -- on our military personnel.

Our wounded warriors are veterans -- almost history repeating -- -- we're starting to see it now the sequester -- will have.

Cuts in health care benefits they'll be cutting back on.

You know -- -- -- -- benefits that are wounded worsen our retirees have and so I think we're doing it began not just the equipment maintenance.

And the operations.

Of -- armed forces found the actual personnel I think that was a stain on the soul of America.

In the 1970s.

I think obvious stain on the soul of America we do it again it's a very important things for us to think about as the -- the comments from the president initiated meaning KT Drake had yet -- thank you thank you John.

Load More