Leaving Afghanistan will make it difficult to whack al Qaeda with Hellfires

NY Times:

Afghanistan Exit Is Seen as Peril to C.I.A. Drone Mission


American intelligence agencies are concerned that they could lose their air bases used for drone strikes if a final security deal cannot be struck with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai.
The US best hope is to wait out Karzai and cut a deal with a more reasonable replacement.  That may mean altering the current schedule of withdrawals, but that beats making ourselves hostage to the whims of Karzai.  I think it is inevitable that we will lose the ability to strike with drones if we leave without a deal, and unfortunately, Obama has already shown he was willing to make such rash retreats in Iraq.

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