The Taliban has said that the United States president’s decision to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016 will not help Washington or Kabul, rather the militants would continue their efforts to push foreigners out of the country.
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The ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed said the troops are needed to train the Afghan military and protect the USA from potential terrorist activity.
Overseeing the end of USA military operations in Afghanistan has been one of President Barack Obama’s prized political goals.
As the government of President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abddullah celebrates the extension of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, the Taliban have angrily denounced the decision as “illogical”.
In yielding to those facts on the ground even as he insisted, far from credibly, that the American “combat role” there had ended, President Obama effectively determined that the next commander-in-chief will inherit the burden of America’s long war there.
The sudden departure from Obama’s proposed strategy in 2014 comes after months of major attacks by insurgent groups across Afghanistan, where the Taliban have recently gained territory – most notably temporarily holding the key northern hub of Kunduz, the first major city to fall to the insurgents since 2001. We’re not taking care of them.
The United States originally planned to withdraw all but a small embassy-based force of 1,000 troops by the end of 2016.
Mujahid said Obama’s decision will not stop the Taliban from furthering its “fast-moving jihad (holy war)” against occupation forces in the country.
U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, a Republican who represents most of Lancaster County, said in a statement he respects Obama’s tough choice.
President Obama said he’ll assess the situation on the ground and make adjustments if necessary.
Beyond the recent security troubles in Afghanistan, USA commanders have expressed concern about Islamic State fighters moving into the country and gaining recruits from within the Taliban.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday the Pentagon “did a lot of homework” to determine the number of troops that should remain in Afghanistan past 2017 and that the number Obama authorized is “enough”.
“Beside stability/development of AFG, we remain determined to strengthen the relations in the area of fighting terrorism now more than ever”, he wrote.
The news on the troop deployment came after a series of setbacks, including a USA air strike on October 3 on a hospital in Kunduz run by Doctors Without Borders that killed at least 14 staff and 10 patients, with nine others still unaccounted for.
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The USA presence in Afghanistan has permitted girls to go to school and new schools to be built, and allowed women to take responsible roles in government and in nongovernmental organizations.
