President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced a slowing in the withdrawal of US forces in Afghanistan as 8,400 USA troops will remain in the country through 2016.
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Around 9,800 USA troops are now in Afghanistan, reportedly training Afghan forces to battle militant groups such Daesh and the Taliban. “They’ve gained ground in some cases”.
“I strongly believe that it is in our national security interest, especially after all the blood and treasure we have invested in Afghanistan over the years, that we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed”, said Obama, speaking next to Ash Carter, the USA defence chief, and General Joseph Dunford, the top U.S. military commander. And by adjusting his target for troop numbers, Obama was implicitly admitting – despite insisting that USA forces had forged great progress in Afghanistan – that the situation at the end of his administration was not as positive as he might have hoped.
Obama acknowledged that many people expected U.S. troops to be out of Afghanistan by now, considering it has been 15 years since the 2001 invasion, which is referencing the 9/11 attacks.
“I welcome President Obama’s decision to reverse his previous plan to drawdown US forces in Afghanistan”, McCain said in a written statement. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity still lingers across the war-torn country despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.
Still, he said, “the decision to retain 8 400 USA troops in Afghanistan into next year is certainly preferable to cutting those forces by almost half”.
Obama’s announcement comes with major implications for his legacy.
The decision also reflected worries in the administration that Al Qaeda was regrouping in Afghanistan, and that the Islamic State had established a foothold there. There are now 9,800 USA troops in the country. The military was also concerned that it would need more than 5,500 to provide security and logistics support for allies fighting alongside the U.S.
No matter how much progress USA officials insist has been, overall conditions in Afghanistan remain dire, said Anthony Cordesman, military analyst and Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The decision will leave the planned troop levels in place until Obama’s successor takes office in January 2017.
But his announcement reflected his limited ability to influence the sobering reality in Afghanistan after he declared an end to U.S. combat there in 2014. We are stronger than ever and 8,400 troops can not stop us.
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But the decreased US presence has not translated into decreased violence, with the United Nations declaring 2015 the worst year on record for Afghan civilians.
