Politics
Obama, Karzai agree to speed up military transition and U.S. troop withdrawal
The Afghan army and police now have 352,000 in training or on duty, although that number is viewed by many as unsustainable because the government is almost entirely reliant on international aid to pay the bills.
Some private security analysts — and some in the Pentagon — worry that pulling out to quickly will leave Afghanistan vulnerable to collapse. In a worst-case scenario, that could allow the Taliban to regain power and revert to the role they played in the years before the September 11, 2001, attacks as protectors of al-Qaeda terrorists bent on striking the U.S.
Many Americans, however, are weary of the war and skeptical of any claim that Afghanistan is worth more U.S. blood.
In a reflection of the diminishing support in Congress for a robust U.S. role in Afghanistan, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a member of the Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Obama on Friday urging him to significantly reduce the number of American troops in the region and bring American forces home as quickly as possible.
“Our troops have accomplished their mission: Osama bin Laden is dead, extremist networks in Afghanistan have been disrupted so that they are no longer a credible international threat and the Afghan security forces have received training and equipment for nearly a decade,” Manchin wrote. “It is now time to let Afghanistan determine its own future.”
Obama and Karzai also have to decide whether a residual U.S. force will remain after 2014 to prevent al-Qaeda from re-establishing a substantial presence in Afghanistan and to continue training and advising Afghan forces. U.S. commanders have recommended that 6,000 to 15,000 U.S. troops remain for those purposes, but the White House seems to believe the true need is closer to 3,000 — or possibly even zero.
Asked at the news conference about a potential post-2104 U.S. military presence, Karzai said, “Numbers are not going to make a difference to the situation in Afghanistan. It’s the broader relationship that will make a difference.”
Although it’s not widely recognized in the U.S., American forces have greatly scaled back their combat role already. In a joint statement, Obama and Karzai said Afghan forces now lead more than 80 percent of combat operations, and by next month they will be in the lead in security for nearly 90 percent of the Afghan population.
