By Cheryl Pellerin, DoD News, Defense Media Activity /
Published October 15, 2015
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- President Barack Obama announced at the
White House Oct. 15, that he will keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan through 2016
and a lesser number into 2017 to sustain coalition efforts to train and
strengthen Afghan forces.
Joining Obama at the podium were Vice President Joe Biden,
Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As part of a four-step plan that he said would best ensure
lasting progress in Afghanistan, Obama said he would maintain the current
posture of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of 2016.
Rather than reduce troop levels to a normal embassy presence
in Kabul by the end of 2016, Obama said the U.S. will maintain 5,500 troops and
a small number of bases, including at Bagram Airfield and Jalalabad Airfield in
the east and Kandahar in the south.
The mission in Afghanistan will not change, the president
said.
Critical missions
“Our forces … will remain engaged in two narrow, but
critical, missions,” the president said, “training Afghan forces and supporting
counterterrorist operations against the remnants of al-Qaida.”
Obama said he decided on new troop levels after a request in
March by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for continued support and following
consultations with his national security team, international partners and
members of Congress, and with Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah
Abdullah.
“America's combat mission in Afghanistan is over, but the
commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures,” Obama said.
The final parts of Obama’s plan are to work with allies and
partners to align the U.S. plan with their own presence in Afghanistan after
2016, and to continue to support Ghani and the national unity government as
they pursue critical reforms.
“In Afghanistan,” Obama said, “we are part of a 42-nation
coalition, and our NATO allies and partners can continue to play an
indispensable role in helping Afghanistan strengthen its security forces,
including respect for human rights.”
Delivering progress
In an Oct. 14 conversation with Ghani and Abdullah, Obama
said he told the Afghan leaders that their efforts to deliver progress and
justice for the Afghan people will continue to have strong U.S. support. They
also discussed American support of an Afghan-led reconciliation process, he
added.
Said sanctuaries for the Taliban and other terrorists must
end, the president said.
“Next week, I'll host Prime Minister (Nawaz) Sharif of
Pakistan,” Obama continued, “and I will continue to urge all parties in the
region to press the Taliban to return to peace talks and to do their part in
pursuit of the peace that Afghans deserve.”
Carter said Afghan forces have proven themselves capable and
resilient fighters who can provide security for their nation.
Difficult fight
“They have performed admirably this fighting season, the
first for which the responsibility to fight the Taliban has fallen squarely on
their shoulders,” the defense secretary said. “But Taliban advances in parts of
the country underscore the reality that this is and remains a difficult fight.”
Afghanistan still needs help, he continued, and through
NATO’s Resolute Support mission, the Defense Department is working closely with
the Afghan national defense and security forces and the country’s security
ministries to ensure they’re prepared to protect the Afghan people and set
conditions for stability in the region.
“This extends beyond our U.S. military presence and includes
the important financial commitments we will need to make in support of the
Afghan security forces,” Carter said.
The U.S. military’s presence and financial sustainment will
send a strong message to the international community that the U.S. is committed
to Afghanistan and is intent on fostering long-term stability, he added.
U.S. commitment
“We anticipate that the U.S. commitment will in turn garner
the commitment of other members of the coalition that U.S. forces have operated
with,” Carter said. “I have already initiated consultations with key allies to
secure their continued support for this mission.”
Over time, he added, “we will reduce our footprint in
Afghanistan, but not our commitment to the country and its people.”
In a statement from Kabul, Army Gen. John F. Campbell, the
commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said Obama’s decision “provides us the
ability to further develop a lasting strategic relationship with our Afghan
partners, and allows us to counter the rise of violent extremism in a volatile
part of the world.”
He added, “Our continued efforts to stabilize Afghanistan
will benefit the entire region and in turn offer greater security for the U.S.
homeland and Americans abroad and at home.”
Vital mission
Before Obama left the podium, he spoke directly to the
Afghan people, to the men and women in uniform and to the American people.
To U.S. service members, the president said he doesn’t send
them into harm’s way lightly.
“It's the most solemn decision that I make,” Obama said. “I
know the wages of war in the wounded warriors I visit in the hospital and in
the grief of Gold Star families. But 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.”
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