US President Barack Obama has announced plans to extend the United
States military’s role in Afghanistan and keep the current force of
9,800 troops through most of 2016, amid a surge in Taliban
attacks. Obama had aimed to withdraw all but a small US embassy-based
force in the capital Kabul before leaving office in January 2017.
Aljazeera reports:
Under the new plan, troop numbers will fall to 5,500
starting some time in 2017, and be based in Kabul, Bagram, Jalalabad and
Kandahar. Saying that he does not “support the idea of endless war”,
Obama nonetheless said that he is “firmly convinced” that the US cannot
“allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven” for armed groups like the
Taliban and al-Qaeda.
“Since taking the lead for security earlier this year, Afghan forces
have continued to step up,” he said. “Afghan forces continue to hold
most major areas.” “In key areas of the country the security situation
is still very fragile, and in some places there is risk of
deterioration,” he said.
The decision comes after months of deliberations between Obama,
Afghan leaders, Pentagon officials, commanders in the field and White
House advisers about how best to continue to support Afghan forces,
senior US administration officials said. Martin Reardon, a 21-year
veteran of FBI and the senior vice president of the Soufan Group, a
strategic security and intelligence consultancy, believes this decision
was taken to continue assisting and training the Afghan forces.
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