The Defense Department had been expected to announce on Friday changes in the US military operation in Afghanistan to increase the ability to attack Taliban targets, but it was canceled on Thursday according to several officials familiar with the effort.
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Another defense official told Stars and Stripes that the Pentagon was in the process of drafting orders that would lay out guidelines for the new authorities, including the rules of engagement and whether USA forces will be inserted to accompany the Afghan forces at brigade or smaller-sized units. The Afghan government remains weak and unstable, despite tens of billions of dollars in US aid. The changes mean US troops can now work more closely with local fighters in striking the Taliban. “Or it means, in some cases, accompanying Afghan forces on the ground or in the air”. “We welcome this decision from America and it will boost the morale of the Afghan army”. Also, airstrikes won’t have to be justified as protecting American troops, giving more latitude to military leaders.
Despite a vow to withdraw thousands of USA troops from Afghanistan by 2017, President Barack Obama this week veered the opposite direction, widening the US military’s role in the entrenched, 15-years-long conflict. But Mr. Obama could opt to keep a larger USA troop presence there. But strikes against the Taliban were largely halted at the end of 2014, when the USA -led coalition’s combat role ended.
The changes come just after the top US commander in the country, Gen. John Nicholson, completed a 90-day review he started when he took command. And there have been repeated conversations with the White House in recent weeks.
USA advisers are supposed to avoid places where they are likely to be drawn into the line of fire, remaining behind the last covered overlook or terrain feature.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the broader powers will “help Afghans maintain control of the country”.
“If we can’t get out there. we can’t see if the troops are getting shoes, or getting bullets, or getting grenades, or getting paid, and the security will have an impact on that”, Sopko said.
Nicholson’s request follows recommendations made by his predecessor, Gen. John Campbell, before Campbell stepped down that urged the White House to allow targeting Taliban forces more aggressively.
The White House says US troops are not taking on a new mission in Afghanistan but rather will “more proactively support” Afghan government forces both in the air and on the ground. However, how effectively Afghan forces can fight the Taliban remains a big question, Sopko said, and if the security situation deteriorates further, it could threaten the ability of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government to provide services to citizens.
It also comes ahead of Obama’s eagerly anticipated decision on whether to forge ahead with a scheduled reduction in the numbers of USA troops from about 9,800 now to 5,500 by the start of 2017. The forces are resilient, even in those situations where they do encounter operational or even strategic setbacks, he asserted.
More than 5,000 Afghan troops died a year ago alone, prompting Obama to indefinitely postpone the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
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US airstrikes have been strictly limited since the troop withdrawals of 2014, when the USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formally ended their combat role, but there were exceptions for “counter-terror” strikes against al-Qaida and “self-defense” strikes in support of USA trainers and advisers who came under attack.
