Washington: The US has announced it will stay in Afghanistan for longer than initially planned, and with larger troops. The ongoing drawdown will stop, and the current force level of 9,800 will continue until the end of 2016, after which it will drop to 5,500, but with no cut back deadlines. This is far more than what the US had planned earlier, to leave behind after 2016, only 1,000 and confined to Kabul, to solely protect the US embassy.
Forces stationed on Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar, will remain in train and assist and counter-insurgency roles. Announcing the new US military plan for Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said that despite significant progress, “the Afghan forces are not as strong as they need to be. By now it should be clear to the Taliban and all who oppose Afghanistan's progress that the only real way to achieve the full drawn down of US and foreign troops from Afghanistan is through a lasting political settlement with the Afghan government.”
He added the sanctuaries for the Taliban and other terrorists must end. “Next week I will host Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan and I will continue to urge all parties in the region to press the Taliban to return to the peace talks” and do their part in the pursuit of peace that the Afghanis deserve. Afghanistan still wavers as it is not ready to fend for itself yet, as extremists wait to strike from sanctuaries in Pakistan. While India has welcomed the new US plan, it is concerned about Pakistan moving to reoccupy space left behind by US pullout, as it did previously after 1989, turning Afghanistan into a hub for terrorists from all over the world.
