We cannot afford even one strategy – US military officer

America's new counter-terrorism strategy calls for a refocus of resources to combat domestic terror threats says Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief-of-staff, who believes the situation is based on strategic necessity.

As the US and its allies prepare to pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan, Washington turns its sights to the home front. However, Lawrence Wilkerson believes no matter what is said the US cannot leave the region right now.  “We caused a disaster in the Persian Gulf by destroying the balance of power between Iran and Iraq,” he said. “And we are now that balance of power, so we are not leaving Iraq any time soon. We may say we are, but we are not.”“We are destabilizing Pakistan, it has probably never been so fragile,” he added. “And we are the principal cause. So we are not leaving Afghanistan either, despite what the president might say.” The new counter-terrorism strategy also means fewer American boots on the ground in conflict zones, with more drone strikes and raids by special forces. Lawrence Wilkerson believes the US cannot afford to prepare for “a large war” and carry out this “rather sophisticated counter-terrorism war” simultaneously. “It concerns me that we are sort of forfeiting the ability to fight the big one for the ability to fight a lot of little ones,” he said. With the US already deploying unmanned drones in Libya and preparing to use special forces for covert surgical strikes, Wilkerson believes that introducing ground troops is the only way to change the precarious balance between rebel forces and Gaddafi regime.“I don’t see that we are swinging the balance there,” he said. “I don’t see that we are winning. I don’t see that we are forcing Gaddafi to leave.”