Within weeks of assuming office, Obama publicly declared his intention to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, before he even asked his team to work out a strategy. A troop surge that lasted up to 2010 was designed not to rout the Taliban militarily, but to strike a political deal with the enemy from a position of strength.
执政才几个星期，奥巴马就公开宣布他打算让美国部队从阿富汗撤离，此前他甚至没有要求他的团队制定相关战略。拖到2010年才出台的增兵战略并不是为了击溃塔利班军队，而是为了在与敌人达成政治协议时处于优势地位。然而，增兵还未开始，撤退计划就使增兵的目的大打折扣了。随后，奥巴马又公开宣布，2011至2014年期间，美国军队将逐步撤离阿富汗。