Obama: I will "finish the job" in Afghanistan, I've got an exit strategy!

Please note, the following post - while indeed true - was written tongue-in-cheek:

President Obama vowed on Tuesday to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan and said he would accomplish this goal by implementing an exit strategy to withdraw US troops from the war-torn region.

“It is my intention to finish the job" in Afghanistan, the President said, "consequently, we need to make it clear to the Afghan government that our commitment is not open-ended and that we are prepared to abandon ship, if the going gets rough."

Media reports indicate that Obama's new strategy calls for the deployment of some 34,000 troops and also contains so-called, "exit-ramps", which will enable the President to wave the White Flag, if necessary, and to "Finish the Job" in a most timely and efficient manner.

End of tongue-in-cheek post.

The following is an excerpt from an article in Radio Free Europe. The article quotes Obama as saying that "it remains America's goal to ensure that Al-Qaeda can't have a safe haven in Afghanistan." The only way to accomplish that goal, Obama says, is "to ensure stability in Afghanistan." He then goes on to pledge that he will get the job done, the implication being, that he will bring about stability in Afghanistan. But then he concludes his statement by saying "the job of stabilizing Afghanistan will be up to the Afghans themselves", the implication being, that it is up to them to get the job done - which means, his pledge to "finish the job" in Afghanistan, is totally null and void.

Today Obama said it remains America's goal to ensure that Al-Qaeda can't have a safe haven in Afghanistan. The way to do that, he argued, is to ensure stability in Afghanistan.

"After eight years -- some of those years in which we did not have, I think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done -- it is my intention to finish the job," he said.

Obama said the job of stabilizing Afghanistan will be up to the Afghans themselves.

Sigh..... Who knows, maybe I'm reading too much into this article. Maybe Obama's words were taken out of context. Nevertheless, one thing is for certain, 'finishing the job' and 'exit strategies' do not go in hand in hand.