His announcement leaves his successor with a substantial military commitment in the country, though far less than the close to 40,000 troops who were fighting there when Obama took office.
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President Obama said his decision to leave 8,400 troops is the appropriate course of action to protect national security.
“From coalition bases in Jalalabad and Kandahar, we’ll be able to continue supporting Afghan forces on the ground and in the air”, he added. The president’s announcement comes shortly before he departs for the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 8-9, where leaders will discuss the situation in Afghanistan. It remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
Progress in stabilizing Afghanistan has been undermined by the resurgence of the Taliban, which were removed from power in the 2001 USA -led invasion but have lately stepped up their deadly attacks.
“Terrorism is not only directed towards Afghanistan; it is not only a regional threat but a worldwide threat”.
“We pushed al Qaeda out of its camps, helped the Afghan people topple the Taliban and helped them establish a democratic government”, the president said.
The surge in Afghan violence has led Washington to rethink its exit strategy. The Afghan Air Force is having problems in growing. The narrow missions assigned to our forces will not change. Obama noted the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack is approaching, and that 2,200 Americans soldiers have died in Afghanistan. In May, a missile fired from a USA drone killed Mullah Mohammed Akhtar Mansour, the head of the Taliban, as he was driving in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.
“There are already too few forces to defend the ones they have, but I’m more comfortable with 8,000 [troops] than I am 5,000. With our help, they’re still working to improve critical capabilities, such as intelligence, logistics, aviation and command and control”.
Obama says the security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious.
“I think ultimately to keep America safe and to make sure we can combat these terrorists then we would always need to have a presence there”, said Marinari.
“It just thins you out enormously, and so you just end up with a multiple higher level of risk”, said retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former North Atlantic Treaty Organisation commander.
The war is estimated to have cost the United States about $1 trillion.
This appears to be the last decision on Afghan troop levels of Obama’s eight years in office, and will leave the war to his successor.
The president, whose term in office ends next January, said his successor would be best positioned to make future decisions concerning the United States presence.
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Defense Secretary Ash Carter told North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies last month that the US would continue that support.
