Since then, rules of engagement limited strikes in Afghanistan to the three circumstances: to protect USA ground troops, to target al Qaeda or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or to protect Afghan forces when they are in imminent danger of being overrun by the Taliban.
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Defense officials tell Phil the president is also authorizing US commanders to deploy troops along with regular Afghan infantry forces – not just Afghan special operations forces, which the military is now assisting. At the same time, the US has been building up the Afghans’ ability to provide their own close air support by supplying them this year with A-29 Super Tucano ground attack aircraft.
The official said USA forces will also be able to provide close air support to Afghan ground forces and accompany and advise them on the ground.
Obama, who ran for his second term on a platform that included ending US involvement in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, decided in October 2015 to delay a planned draw-down and maintain 9,800 USA troops in Afghanistan through 2016.
It also comes ahead of Obama’s eagerly anticipated decision on whether to forge ahead with a scheduled reduction in the numbers of United States troops from about 9,800 now to 5,500 by the start of 2017.
The move is “politically sensitive”, the wire service notes, because “Obama had made clear his commitment to get US forces out of Afghanistan”. That amounts to an acknowledgement that the Afghans need more help than the Pentagon had anticipated a year ago, and it is a signal to allies not to abandon the USA -led coalition.
But the decreased USA presence-down from a high of 100,000 troops-has not translated into decreased violence, with the United Nations declaring 2015 the worst year on record for Afghan civilians.
Five former military commanders in Afghanistan and five former ambassadors to Afghanistan urged Obama in a letter last week to not drawdown the USA force.
Under the old rules of engagement the US was only allowed to intervene on behalf of the Afghan defense forces when it was about to suffer a particularly devastating military setback.
The US forces were earlier accompanying the Afghan special forces only when it was needed, according to the US officials said. Officials stressed that this will not allow routine USA airstrikes against the Taliban, just provide authority to take those actions when commanders believe they are vital to the fight. It’s also in the same sense that we’re looking at the number of troops.
Earnest emphasized that United States forces would not be in a combat role and the U.S. mission in Afghanistan has not changed.
It is not clear how much the decision truly marks a significant change for US operations in the country, particularly for regular Afghans. There are now 9,800 US service members across Afghanistan. He said their mission is still focused on counterterrorism operations and training the Afghan security forces. “So I’m pleased they’ve reverted to a more normal approach: If [the Taliban] is going to continue to be at war with us, we’re going to be at war with them”. Since then, US forces have been relegated to a bifurcated mission.
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The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. It’s better for the U.S.to leave the country, us and the Afghan government alone.
