Open-Ended Stay In Afghanistan For Da Legacy

The latest in a series of similar decisions taken by Barack Obama, as to US presence in Afghanistan, is to “effectively leave the decision of when to end America’s 14-year military involvement to his successor.”

What’s at stake this time around? The same as last time: The lives of some of the finest men this country has to offer; the prospect of being killed and crippled for naught. That last line was penned here on 12.02.09

VIA TIME:

President Obama announced Thursday a significant slowdown in the pace of withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, scrapping his aim of leaving only a small U.S embassy-based force in the country when he steps down from office in 2017 …
As the Taliban insurgency in the country shows signs of renewed strength, Obama said the current contingent of 9,800 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan through most of 2016. Their focus will be counter-terrorism and training Afghan forces. “Their mission will not change,” Obama stressed, following the ending of U.S. combat operations in 2014.

But instead of withdrawing by the end of 2016 all but a residual force to be stationed at the heavily-fortified US embassy in Kabul, Obama said 5,500 American troops will remain in the country at four locations around Afghanistan.

Calling the decision “the right thing to do,” Obama said that while Afghan government forces had stepped up and fought for their country, they were not “as strong as they need to be.”

“In key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile and in some places there’s risk of deterioration,” he said.

The President’s reversal reflects an increasingly troubling reality: 14 years after they were displaced by the U.S.-led invasion of the country, Taliban insurgents are staging a violent comeback. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of a much-reduced foreign troop cover—the current U.S. presence, for example, is down from a high of over 100,000 in 2011—there is little sign that Afghan forces are strong enough to defend the country from the insurgency. …

MUCH MORE edifying than the non-news media’s pandering is Barely A Blog’s Afghanistan archive:

“The Afghanistan Report the Pentagon Doesn’t Care If You Read” (2012)

“Obama’s Address on the War in Afghanistan” (2009)