By Samuel Burke

(CNN) - The White House has been scaling back both troops and expectations in Afghanistan as it scales down the war there. General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, confirmed specifics of the drawdown, announcing that a quarter of American troops will be home by the end of September. But in an exclusive interview with Christiane Amanpour he said he'll need strong combat forces there for the foreseeable future.

The change of in the U.S.’ definition of success in Afghanistan has even resulted in the national security advisers’ publicly saying that the U.S.’ goal is to provide a modicum of stability for Afghanistan. Even though previously, the stated goal had been to defeat, prevent, and to have high expectations for a secure Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported that aides to President Obama informally called this strategy, “Afghan Good Enough.” General Allen firmly rejected this prescription to Amanpour. “I don't use the term, ‘Afghan good enough,’ he said. “Because we're all sacrificing way too much for something that's ‘Afghan Good Enough.’ I think that term understates or undersells the commitment that we've all made to this.  Afghanistan is an important country in an important region. And the outcome of our investment  – this global investment of 50 nations and ISAF and many other nations who've been involved for a long period of time with great generosity – is not about being good enough.”

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