Taliban: "You Have All The Watches, But We Have All The Time!"

President Obama on Tuesday announced his plan to begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in 18 months. However, in an interview with CNN, Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, criticized Obama's strategy:

Today, the president of the United States... announced an escalation of the war... But he also coupled that with an exit strategy, including a goal of when the troops can start coming home...

If you [establish] a time line, you encourage the enemy to out-wait you, to regard the strategy as not enduring.When I was the ambassador in Afghanistan, the Taliban sent me a message saying: "You have all the watches, but we have all the time!.."

I think the emphasis on an artificial time line may encourage the Taliban to persist, to endure and for the region to assume that we do not have the staying power and, therefore, make the job of succeeding harder.

Give the Taliban credit where credit is due; they came up with a fantastic line!:

"You Have All The Watches, But We Have All The Time!" [Great advertisement for a watch company.]

Nevertheless, I noticed the president, when announcing his exit strategy Tuesday, did not use the famous slogan he always uses when he tries to rally his troops around him: The words,"Yes We Can!"

But undoubtedly, the Taliban - while watching Obama's speech - were chanting their own campaign slogan...., and Obama's campaign slogan too!:

"You have all the watches, but we have all the time!"

"Yes we can!"

"Osama bin-Laden and Mullah Omar in 2011!".....

The only thing missing is the pin.