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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Just last month, Obama approved broader authorities for the USA military in Afghanistan that on a case-by-case basis will allow American forces to accompany conventional Afghan troops and possibly allow airstrikes in support of Afghan troops to help them seize a battlefield advantage.
The president had planned to drop troop levels from the current 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of 2016 but a Taliban resurgence led Washington to rethink its exit strategy.
Obama recalled that in December 2014 he established a goal of bringing the Afghanistan invasion to a “responsible” end after in September 2001 the United States invaded the country to destroy the Taliban regime but for years now has been focusing on training, advising and counterterrorism activities.
The original plan, notes CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin, was to have 5,500 troops remaining in Afghanistan going into 2017 – with most or all of them as Kabul-based advisers to the Afghanistan military. That’s much smaller than the force of about 100,000 stationed in Afghanistan during Obama’s 2010-2011 troop surge. The president planned to discuss troop commitments with US allies when he attends a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit later this week in Warsaw, Poland.
Afghan government forces have struggled with attacks by Taliban insurgents after taking over full responsibility for their country’s security in January 2015.
“Today’s decision best positions my successor to make future decisions about our presence in Afghanistan”, Obama said Wednesday at the White House, announcing he will withdraw 1,400 troops rather than 4,300 troops.
“It is in our national security interest – especially after all the blood and treasure we’ve invested in Afghanistan over the years – that we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed”, Obama said while standing next to top USA military leaders.
The United States has close to 10,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, where they train and equip Afghan forces and carry out counter-terrorism operations. The Arizona Republican says Obama’s announcement is preferable to cutting the troop level by almost half. The level of troops “will allow us to continue to provide tailored support to help Afghan forces continue to improve”, he said.
8,400 troops will remain in Afghanistan indefinitely.
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He added despite efforts to reform a notoriously corrupt government, lift up Afghanistans economy and implement costly programs to build up its infrastructure, little progress has been made. Obama called for perseverance in order to deal with Al Qaeda from regrouping and to ensure that the Islamic state group did not spread even further.
