North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops may need to stay in Afghanistan for a more drawn out period and any choice ought to be founded on the circumstance on the ground, Germany guard priest said on Thursday, in a certain feedback of the USA timetable.
Advertisement
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said after talks in Brussels he had asked all of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partners to remain flexible and to consider the possibility of making adjustments to a plan that was now two-and-a-half years old for the presence in Afghanistan. “But, it’s going to take a USA decision first before they do that”, he said.
“A number of countries today indicated a willingness to change their plans and posture”.
The USA has said it would drop troop levels in Afghanistan from 9,800 to near 1,000 stationed at the US embassy in Kabul by the end of 2016.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the alliance’s decisions will be made based on a detailed security assessment that will determine the size of the force, where they will be based and how long they will stay.
Obama on Wednesday apologised to MSF for the bombing, which killed 22 people, and came as Afghan forces, with USA support, fought to retake the city.
Stoltenberg noted the Kunduz tragedy and underscored the need for a full, thorough and transparent investigation. Carter said he was preparing a USA funding request to sustain Afghan troops at their target peak levels of around 350,000 in 2017 “and beyond”.
The mission replaced NATO’s combat role in the country previous year and is set to end in 2016.
Advertisement
U.S. Army General John Campbell, commander of worldwide forces in Afghanistan, has prepared options for Obama that could see the United States keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan after 2016, US officials say.
