Reading up on Obama’s Afghan plan, I don’t think he’s bluffing
President Obama pressures Afghanistan leader Karzai on security deal

White House officials have hinted for months that they would consider pulling all U.S. troops out by year’s end, but the so-called zero option was widely seen as a ploy to pressure Karzai to approve the bilateral accord, which gives U.S. troops legal protection for their actions. The Afghan leader has given no indication he will sign, however.

Now some senior Obama aides have begun to embrace the prospect of a full pullout, arguing it would be both politically popular at home and strategically viable given other military options in the region, according to a senior administration official who declined to identify the aides. The administration’s contingency plans include using air bases in Central Asia to conduct drone missile attacks in northwest Pakistan, U.S. officials said this month.