What's behind President Barack Obama's so-called pull out of Afghanistan?

Will the Afghanistan war end because Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama wants to pull out some of the troops? That does not seem likely.

According to the U.S. president—who would like another term in office—all the so-called “surge” troops will soon be headed homeward, yet some 70,000 soldiers will remain in Afghanistan. According to news reports, remaining troops will number more than were in the country when Obama took office.

By 2014, according to Obama’s recent speech on withdrawal of U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan, the Afghans will “be responsible for their own security.” The idea is apparently to keep the “gains” made...But what if those gains turn into losses?

The top brass in the Pentagon did not react very enthusiastically about the proposed step by step long term  withdrawal, yet you have to read read between the lines to grasp the real intention of president’s proposal: for example talk about building a “partnership with the Afghan people that endures.” The likely conclusion is that the troops may begin to pack their bags, but in their wake there will be more U.S. Military bases.

A key phrase in Obama’s speech: “We must embrace America’s singular role in the course of human events.” The meaning of that sentence demands clear analysis. Throughout its history, the U.S. has always described its experience as unique and that “uniqueness” has been frequently used to carry out expansive activities, in the hope of exporting the “American way of life.”

That argument has been used time and again by Washington to justify its military exploits abroad, more recently the same line of reasoning led Obama to back the attack against Libya. The reasoning continues: “What sets America apart is not solely our power; it is the principles upon which our union was founded.”

Precisely one of those principles is that Congress is supposed to have the sole power to declare war. But most U.S. military incursions abroad have bypassed the opinion of Congress, or in any event provoked situations which have then obliged congressmen to approve.

Obama and most U.S. Politicians claim the country is not an empire. Yet it maintains troops in some 150 countries and proudly describes itself as the steward of peace, traditionally defending its military actions as in favor of peace, justice or democracy.

There are of course other considerations at stake. The war is extremely expensive. The multimillion dollar debt stacked up by former president George Bush continues to climb, with even higher military expenditures. The war against terrorism drags on and on with no end in sight (the much acclaimed victories, such as the assasination of Ben Laden by no means suggest a prompt end to the conflict.) The war has produced scant dividends in terms of kindling the slagging crisis ridden economy and the mood of voters has shifted  to weariness with the war or even opposition.

With re-election around the corner, talk about retiring troops from Afghanistan sounds good but the essence would appear to be rather to bring about a change so there will be no change. Time will reveal the characteristics of that change of tactics, but it is not likely that war will disappear from Washington’s agenda.