Confusion about Afghanistan timeline remains

So, after President Obama’s new Afghanistan commander, Gen. David Petraeus, spent hours explaining the nuance of U.S. policy on Afghanistan to Congress, has the confusion about the July 2011 timeline been resolved? Not so much.

Petraeus was extremely clear in describing Obama’s strategy to set July 2011 as the date that the U.S. will begin to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, with the pace of that withdrawal dependent on the conditions on the ground. How many troops would leave and how fast is simply not determined yet, but "July 2011 is not a date when we will be rapidly withdrawing our forces and switching off the lights and closing the door behind us," he wrote in his written answer to questions from the committee.

After emerging from the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Petraeus’s nomination for his new post, chairman Carl Levin, D-MI, argued that the issue is settled and even those who don’t agree with the policy shouldn’t be able to continue to claim it’s unclear.

"Republicans may disagree with the policy but they can’t say now they are confused by it," Levin said. "Many people want to misrepresent the policy and then complain about it. Republicans can say they don’t like it, but that’s a different argument."

Levin also rejected the contention that the Afghan and Pakistani governments aren’t clear about what the July 2011 timeline means." I think they understand very clearly the date is a beginning point," he said.

Critics of Obama’s timeline, including Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, say it is a gift to the Taliban, citing numerous reports that the militants have been using the July 2011 date to convince wayward Afghans that the Americans are leaving — so you’d better side with the eventual winners now.

But Levin disagreed with that critique, saying the date — now just a year away — is needed to instill a sense of urgency within the Afghan security forces.

What if the Afghans simply can’t get ready that fast? "The president can change his mind," Levin said.

Not everyone’s persuaded.

"I’m as confused as ever," committee member Lindsey Graham, R-SC, told The Cable after the hearing.

Graham doesn’t believe administration officials when they say they have no idea what the pace of withdrawals will ultimately be, or whether the decision to draw down U.S. troops will take conditions on the ground into account, as Petraeus has emphasized in his public comments.

"General Petraeus is trying to be a loyal soldier, but I’m not buying that it is conditions based," Graham said.

 "If the policy is that the withdrawal will definitely begin in July 2011 and the only open question is the pace, that’s a damning policy," Graham added. "We need to resolve this. The enemy is being empowered by the confusion here at home."

Graham pointed to Vice President Joseph Biden‘s quote in a recent book by Newsweek reporter Jonathan Alter, when he said, "In July of 2011 you’re going to see a whole lot of people moving out. Bet on it."

Levin countered that no matter what the quote is, Biden is not the one making the decision.

"He had his input and that input was focused on training Afghan forces and not on increasing U.S. troops," Levin said. "He had his say and now the policy has been decided and he supports the policy."

This will probably come up when Petraeus hosts Biden for dinner tonight.