Taliban vows to escalate attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan

With Afghan forces now in the lead for their own security, our troops have moved to a support role.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday welcomed US President Obama’s announcement on Afghanistan, saying this decision paves the way for a sustained presence by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Allies and partners in Afghanistan. More than 60,000 of our troops have already come home from Afghanistan.

NewsChannel 13 also spoke with Rep. Chris Gibson about US troops staying longer in Afghanistan with no end in sight for American involvement. He acknowledged America’s weariness of the lengthy conflict but said he was “firmly convinced we should make this extra effort”. How this force will be partitioned weighs on how North Atlantic Treaty Organisation decides to continue their mission following 2016, the Pentagon said.

Yet even in his 2009 announcement of a surge in Afghanistan, Obama promised a departure date – hardly a sign of it being a “top priority” or the right message for a “war that we have to win”.

The US troops in Afghanistan will be stationed at a small number of bases, including Bagram, Kandahar in the south, and Jalalabad in the east.

But if Obama had gone through with his plan to reduce the US mission to a 1,000-strong embassy force by the end of next year, it was easy to foresee the pro-Western government of Ashraf Ghani losing control over more cities. Jeb Bush said in a statement that he supports troop increases but thinks the president is not doing enough to carry out the vision of military commanders.

Security is worsening across Afghanistan and the current 9,800-person force was barely sufficient to avert catastrophe against Taliban gains this year in places like Kunduz in the North and Helmand in the South. The ANSF were able to recapture Kunduz city only after weeks of fighting and with coalition support. Twenty-five Americans, including military personnel and civilian contractors, have been killed this year, Obama noted in his White House remarks Thursday.

Mr. Obama is clearly concerned with his legacy and is extending the period of exposure and cost of the US troop presence in Afghanistan to see that it doesn’t fall apart completely during his time in office. He said Thursday that 5,500 troops that will remain beyond 2016, and they will be present at three bases outside the capital.

Troops are needed to help Iraq fight the Islamic State – a misison the president says will likely outlast his presidency.

“There is a resurgence of the Taleban after the death of Mullah Omar and they have galvanised around Mullah Mansour”, he added, referring to the group’s founder and its new leader.

As defensible as this decision may be, however, it revives the question of whether the U.S.is holding itself hostage to improvements in security and self-governance that the leaders of Afghanistan never seem to achieve.

However, Carter said the administration “did a lot of homework on this” and the level “is our best estimate now for what we should plan for, and are planning for”.

Former technology executive Carly Fiorina called Obama’s decision a “recognition of reality” in Afghanistan.

Although US deaths have fallen off dramatically in recent years, the change may also mean more USA casualties.