Scahill is very likely to be right, I think. In Obama's next term we'll be moving to what he dubbed a Clintonian "cruise missile liberalism" where there will be few to no big deployments but an increase in these precision air wars in God knows how many countries.
This isn't being discussed in the campaign of course. But if history were to repeat itself we'd see the Republicans become downright dovish in response to such a policy. Not out of any real dovishness, of course. They're naturally bloodthirsty. They take the stance for partisan advantage and a preference for traditional warfare.
Scahill points out that the Republican convention erupted in cheers when Clint Eastwood said that we should get out of Afghanistan immediately and I think that's mostly a reflexive opposition to anything Obama does. But it's also a sign that they could be going back to their stance under Clinton. That will present some very interesting short term tactical possibilities for the anti-war left.