Abandoning promise to end Middle East wars he inherited
FACING increasing pressure both at home and abroad, President Barack Obama has made his decision regarding the state of American troops in Afghanistan.
Obama on Thursday, Oct. 15, pledged to keep US troops in the region throughout the end of his presidential term, halting initial plans for withdrawal and abandoning his often-stated promise to end the US’s longest war before he leaves office.
Under the new plan, the United States will keep 9,800 service members in Afghanistan through most of 2016. The number of troops would be reduced to 5,500 beginning in 2017, assuming the next president stays on the same course, said the Los Angeles Times.
White House aides said Obama was confronted daily with problems caused by the collapse of US-trained security forces in Iraq, where he has been forced to send additional troops and warplanes to combat the growing militants in the Islamic State, and did not want to risk a similar scenario in Afghanistan.
“As your commander in chief, I believe this mission is vital to our national security interests in preventing terrorist attacks against our citizens and our nation,” Obama said in a White House appearance last Thursday, insisting that he was “not disappointed” in the decision, but “absolutely confident” that this was the right move for the country.
He emphasized that US’s combat mission in Afghanistan is over, and the remaining troops will stick to pursuing potential terrorist threats, and helping Afghans.
In May 2014, Obama said it was “time to turn the page on a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” He also promised to withdraw the last American troops from the former country by 2016.
Obama said that he continues to oppose the idea of “endless war.” But he also said that a longer-term American presence in Afghanistan was “vital to the security of the US, and a country that is beset by the Taliban their allies from Al Qaeda, and militants from the Islamic State,” according to the New York Times.
“Our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures,” said Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and other top military leaders. “I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again.”
However, he also acknowledged that security remains fragile, and the risk of death of American troops being in the country is still very likely, though far fewer than during the height of the war. So far this year, 25 Americans have been killed overseas.
The decision – which was reached after what White House officials called an “extensive, lengthy review” – ensures that Obama will leave office next year going back on his seminal promise to responsibly end the military involvements started by his predecessor, George W. Bush, by keeping troops in the Middle East.
Critics have said that the president is conveying a message of “weakness” to potential dangerous adversaries, such as terrorist groups and militants.
The Taliban are now spread through more parts of the country than at any point since 2001, according to the United Nations. Last month, they seized the northern key city of Kunduz and held it for more than two weeks before withdrawing.
Noting these dangers, Obama said, “In key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile, and in some areas, there is risk of deterioration…after 2017, American forces will remain on several bases [in Afghanistan] to give us the presence and the reach our forces require to achieve their mission.”
“In part, it’s the actual day-to-day interactions [between US advisers and Afghan troops] that matter,” said Melissa Dalton, a former Pentagon official, adding that the presence of US troops would help fortify training efforts for Afghan soldiers, and provide political and psychological benefits to the nation.
It “demonstrates the US is not walking away” from a situation that remains “very rocky terrain and uncertain,” Dalton said.
Critics said Obama’s actions did not go far enough to confront Al Qaeda and other threats in Afghanistan.
Soon-to-retire House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement that he was “glad the administration finally admits President Obama’s arbitrary political deadlines are ‘self-defeating.’”
It’s what we were dreading…I do think I retain hope somewhere inside of me [that the war will end] because I think I have to,” Mary Hladky, whose son is in the National Guard after serving in the Army for several years and in Afghanistan, told the International Business Times. “But it’s just terrible what we’re doing to our men and women who serve. It’s really sad–very, very sad.”
“What it’s actually doing is helping [the Islamic State group],” Hladky continued. “Everything we do just helps them and it hurts us. We’re not making progress, so why do we do the same thing? To us, it’s very, very frustrating.”
“As in Iraq, the situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated by the time Obama inherited it, making the conflict difficult to end,” said Gordon Adams, professor emeritus of International Relations at American University. “And there’s no evidence that keeping a large US military presence in either country would have brought stability.”
