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| Afghanistan | |
| Campbell leaving, U.S. staying in Afghanistan | |
| 2016-02-14 | |
| Gen. John. F. Campbell, commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, arrived here 18 months ago expecting to be the U.S. military leader who would bring the war to a close. On Saturday, as he prepares to hand-off command to his successor, Campbell was instead promising that coalition forces “are here to stay.” “Not only the U.S., but the whole international community, are now starting to talk about long-term commitment,” Campbell told reporters. “It ought to give confidence to the Afghan people and also send a message to the Taliban too: What they thought in 2015 — everyone is leaving, and they could wait us out, that is no longer the case here.” Campbell’s remarks reflect just how much the Obama administration’s posture toward Afghanistan has changed over the past two years. When Campbell began his tour in August 2014, Obama had already announced plans to reduce U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan to 9,800 by the start of last year. The president then hoped to cut that number in half by the start of this year, paving the way for him to fulfill his 2008 campaign promise of withdrawing all U.S. troops before he leaves office in January. But with the Taliban insurgency showing little sign of weakening and the Islamic State attempting to gain a foothold here, Obama abandoned those plans last year. Obama is now keeping 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of this year. Administration officials say Obama still plans to cut that number in half before his presidency ends, but many analysts believe he may leave that decision up to the next administration. For now, however, the scope of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan is once again broadening. Obama gave Campbell, who also oversees U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan, new authority last month to aggressively target Islamic State militants near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border through airstrikes and Special Forces operations. Campbell said that authority was needed because the Islamic State hopes to use Afghanistan to plan and coordinate attacks on Europe and the United States.
“How much is coming from Syria and Iraq? Hard to tell,” Campbell said. “But we do believe the senior leadership here in Afghanistan does communicate with [Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi] in Iraq and Syria.” But Campbell said coalition forces’ biggest task over the next year will be the mission to train the Afghan army for its continued battle against the Taliban. Despite more than $35 billion in U.S. support over the past 15 years, the Afghan army struggled to repel a major Taliban offensive this past fall into Kunduz, a commercial hub in northern Afghanistan, taking days to regain control. The Taliban also made gains in several eastern and southern provinces last year. To prepare for another “tough year,” Campbell said the coalition is sending several hundred additional advisers to Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand province, where some of the bloodiest battles of the 14-year war have been waged. U.S. military officials say the challenge facing the Afghan army is compounded by still being 25,000 soldiers short of its targeted strength of 195,000. Recruitment is especially poor in Pashtun communities in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, raising concerns about a potentially destabilizing geographic imbalance within the military, officials said. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Roger that, Pappy. |
| Posted by: Wheagum the Rasher of Bacon8442 2016-02-14 16:36 |
| #2 Not worried so much about the ranks; it's the leaders. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-02-14 10:02 |
| #1 Recruitment is especially poor in Pashtun communities in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, raising concerns about a potentially destabilizing geographic imbalance within the military, officials said. Yes General, and we've seen the long-term dangers involved when military enlistments from poor and rural communities [read that, U.S. Southern States] are over-subscribed, have we not ? Delicate political balance eh ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-02-14 07:07 |