Obama to keep military in Afghanistan beyond 2016 – Nigeria welcomes US troops for Cameroon over Boko Haram

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WASHINGTON, Oct 15, (Agencies): President Barack Obama will keep 5,500 US troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017, according to senior administration officials, casting aside his promise to end the war on his watch and instead ensuring he hands the conflict off to his successor.

Obama had originally planned to pull out all but a small, embassybased US military presence by the end of next year, a timeline coinciding with the final weeks of his presidency. But military leaders argued for months that the Afghans needed additional assistance and support from the US to beat back a resurgent Taleban and hold onto gains made over the last 14 years of American bloodshed and billions of dollars in aid. The president was to announce the changes at 11 am Thursday from the White House.

Officials said he would outline plans to maintain the current force of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of next year, then draw down to 5,500 troops in 2017, at a pace still to be determined by commanders. The officials previewed the decisions on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly ahead of the president. US officials have been hinting at the policy shift for weeks, noting that conditions on the ground in Afghanistan have changed since Obama’s initial decision on a sharper troop withdrawal timeline was made more than two years ago.

The White House has also been buoyed by having a more reliable partner in Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who succeeded the mercurial Hamid Karzai last year. “The narrative that we’re leaving Afghanistan is self-defeating,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday during a speech at the Association of the US Army. “We’re not, we can’t, and to do so would not be to take advantage of the success we’ve had to date.” The troops staying in Afghanistan beyond next year will continue to focus on counterterrorism missions and training and advising Afghan security forces, the officials said. They will be based in Kabul and Bagram Air Field, as well as bases in Jalalabad and Kandahar.

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