The officials previewed the decisions on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly ahead of the president.
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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and chief executive Abdullah Abdullah have advocated for a continued USA military presence and last March discussed a slowed-down timeline with U.S. military and administration officials while on a visit to the White House, according to officials.
The Afghan National Security Forces and federal police soon proved unfit to the task on their own, compounded by their inability to gather and process intelligence, perform their own logistics and get an air force off the ground.
Obama will announce his new plan from the White House Thursday morning, senior administration officials told the AP. But the halt to the withdrawal comes is an the implicit acknowledgment they have a few ways to go to fully taking on the security of their country without a sizeable US military presence.
The USA forces will continue to train and advise Afghan forces, and will focus on ensuring that any remnants of Al-Qaeda are prevented from posing a threat to United States security, the officials added.
So, you thought the USA military pulled out of Afghanistan?
Hillary Clinton received surprise respite from attacks over her use of a private email server as U.S. top diplomat, with rivals becoming unlikely defenders during a Democratic presidential debate Tuesday… Experts who follow Afghanistan more closely say one reason for the Taliban’s resurgence is pervasive corruption in the Afghan government – ranked among the worst by Transparency worldwide, a group that monitors global corruption. We’ve been fighting in Afghanistan now for fourteen years, though, and there doesn’t seem to be any sight of it coming to an end any time soon.
“Our mission won’t change,” an official told Reuters.
Officials said there is no time frame for the drawdown of USA forces in 2016 to 5,500 from 9,800.
Almost seven in 10 coalition military members killed in Afghanistan were Americans, though the United Kingdom also lost several hundred service members.
Upending the troop withdrawal decision, however, carries broad political implications. He has done the responsible thing by providing a platform for his successor to boost troop numbers if needed.
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Scrapping a campaign promise, President Barack Obama will announce Thursday that 5,500 American soldiers will remain in Afghanistan.
