Joe Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden
The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body...
reportedly favored a total commitment of only 2,000 troops after the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
combat mission ends in December, a stance said to be indicative of a broader shift that has occurred in Washington in light of the ongoing stalemate over the Kabul-Washington security pact.
According to analysts, 2,000 U.S. troops, a significant reduction from the 8,000-10,000 previously discussed, would only be able to maintain security for the diplomatic assets of the U.S. in Afghanistan. Meaning, such a residual force would not be able to meet the continuing training and logistical support needs of the Afghan forces.
U.S. military officials told the Wall Street Journal that the deadlock facing the Kabul-Washington Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) has begun compelling policymakers to shift their support toward a less ambitious presence in Afghanistan post-2014 than previously imagined.
According to U.S. diplomats, the longer the BSA remains unsigned, the more Washington will have to begin to plan for the "zero-option", which would see all U.S. troops withdraw by the end of the year.
Biden has always favored more of a reduction of the U.S.' role in Afghanistan than many of the top military officials in Washington. Since the start of President Barack Obama
...I am not a dictator!
's tenure in the White House, Biden has been a champion of "ending the wars", referring to the U.S. engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan inherited from the George W. Bush administration.