"It is now clear that withdrawal timetables will continue to accelerate ..."

 '"...Killing me softly..."

"... defense experts said the continued killing of international troops at the hands of Afghan security forces erodes confidence in the heart of the U.S. withdrawal strategy, which rests on training Afghan forces to take the lead in securing their own country.

"It is now clear that withdrawal timetables will continue to accelerate, cutbacks will continue to grow, and political and popular attention will continue to shift away from Afghanistan," Anthony Cordesman, a senior defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), wrote in an analysis this week...."