By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor PUBLISHED: 12:00 EST, 25 February 2014 | UPDATED: 21:55 EST, 25 February 2014 A day after arguing for deep budget cuts to America's military, the Obama administration has told the Defense Department to prepare for a 100 per cent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Obama has made clear his desire to draw down troops from the war-torn nation by year's end, but Tuesday marked the first time a scenario has been discussed publicly that would completely void Afghanistan of U.S. personnel who have been vital in fighting Taliban militias. 'President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014,' the White House said Tuesday morning.
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Obama told his Afghan counterpart that if he doesn't sign a Bilateral Security Agreement, all the American troops in his country could vanish
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The move might be a colossal bluff since it's timed with a NATO defense ministerial where 2015 troop deployment decisions could be made
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But Obama has already shaken up the military with a Pentagon announcement that Army troop levels will be cut down to pre-WWII levels
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And additional budget slashing announced Monday suggests that the president is serious about limiting the role of U.S. might abroad
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