Obama Takes Away Our Strategic Advantage in Afghanistan

Last week, President Obama announced a new "strategic" agreement between the United States and Afghanistan covering the time frame from now until 2014 and 10 years beyond.  But, an overlooked part of that agreement may have actually taken away a "key" strategic advantage that we now enjoy and one which actually allowed us to kill Osama Bin Laden.  That advantage is the ability to launch "offensive" drones and air attacks from Afghanistan against Al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds that are located in neighboring Pakistan. 

Within the ten-page agreement, there is this specific clause: "The United States further pledges not to use Afghan territory or facilities as a launching point for attacks against other countries". Obviously, one of the "other countries" that is clearly implied in this statement is Pakistan. But, it also means that we can't launch any attack against another Afghan neighbor, Iran. And, that, to me, gives us a severe strategic disadvantage in the region.