WASHINGTON –  President Barack Obama will keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017, according to senior administration officials, casting aside his promise to end the war on his watch and instead ensuring he hands the conflict off to his successor.
Obama had originally planned to pull out all but a small, embassy-based U.S. military presence by the end of next year, a timeline coinciding with the final weeks of his presidency. But military leaders argued for months that the Afghans needed additional assistance and support from the U.S. to beat back a resurgent Taliban and hold onto gains made over the last 14 years of American bloodshed and billions of dollars in aid.
The president was to announce the changes Thursday morning from the White House. Officials said he would outline plans to maintain the current force of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of next year, then draw down to 5,500 troops in 2017, at a pace still to be determined by commanders.
The officials previewed the decisions on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly ahead of the president.
U.S. officials have been hinting at the policy shift for weeks, noting that conditions on the ground in Afghanistan have changed since Obama’s initial decision on a sharper troop withdrawal timeline was made more than two years ago. The White House has also been buoyed by having a more reliable partner in Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who succeeded the mercurial Hamid Karzai last year.
“The narrative that we’re leaving Afghanistan is self-defeating,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday during a speech at the Association of the U.S. Army. “We’re not, we can’t and to do so would not be to take advantage of the success we’ve had to date.”
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In March Obama had promised to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 and swore “that date will not change.” He’s doing the right thing, but he’s still a fool. His ego is bigger than his brain.
His commanders recommended a stay behind force of 8,000. The bare minimum was 5,000. Obama decides 5,500 is a good number. How does he come to this number? He probably pulled out of the air. To say he decided not to lose Afghanistan may be too generous of a statement.
At least Obama is capable of learning a lesson from one huge, destructive, terrible mistake.
@Bill: But, If I heard him correctly, he’d love to give ISIS, the Taliban and al Qaeda the DATE CERTAIN for when we will leave.
Nice head’s up, Obama!
If our next president actually kept to Obama’s schedule all of those enemies would know exactly when to come back and take over….or fight one another for prominence.