President Barack Obama has announced that US armed forces will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. In Afghanistan, US force levels have peaked and are declining; the only questions concern the pace of withdrawal and the size and role of any residual US military presence after 2014.
但如今，美国外交政策的这一阶段正在告终。奥巴马总统宣布美军将于2011年年底撤出伊拉克。在阿富汗，美军数量也已经从高峰期有所下降；唯一的问题是撤军的节奏以及2014年之后驻阿富汗美军的规模和作用。