US President Barack Obama yesterday was scheduled to announce a reversal of policy in Afghanistan, slowing plans to draw down US troops and instead maintain a force of 9,800 through most of next year, senior administration officials said.
His decision prolongs the US role in that country’s 14-year-old war and ensures he hands the conflict over to the next US president, due to be elected in November next year and to take office in January 2017.
Obama had aimed to withdraw all but a small US-embassy based force at Kabul before leaving office.
Under the new plan, troops will be drawn down to 5,500 starting sometime in 2017 and based at four locations — Kabul, Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar.
The decision follows months of deliberations between Obama, Afghanistan’s leaders, Pentagon officials, field commanders and White House advisers about how best to support Afghan forces, senior administration officials said.
“Those have been broad discussions, deep discussions, ones that have included the president’s personal engagement and a number of very detailed questions from the president about our posture,” an official said.
The US troops will go on training and advising Afghan forces, and also will focus on ensuring that any remnants of al-Qaeda are prevented from posing a threat to US security, the officials said.
“Our mission won’t change,” an official said.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it doubted the US decision to maintain its number of troops in Afghanistan would ease the situation in the country, RIA news agency reported.
The US-led coalition in Afghanistan ended its combat mission after 13 years of war at the end of last year, and Afghan troops have since been in charge of the nation’s security, with help from US and NATO troops.
However, Afghan forces have struggled in assaults from Taliban militants, who briefly took over the northern city of Kunduz.
“Certainly we’re watching and seeing how the Afghan security forces engage quite tenaciously in the fight in Kunduz,” a US official said.
US military and administration officials have been discussing a slower timetable since the March visit to the White House of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, the officials said.
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