WASHINGTON // The US will slow its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, maintaining 9,800 troops in the country until the end of 2015 instead of cutting the number by about half as originally planned, president Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
“Afghanistan remains a very dangerous place,” Mr Obama said at a press conference after Afghan president Ashraf Ghani’s first visit to the White House since his election six months ago. Mr Obama added that the size of the US troop presence for 2016 will be decided later this year.
Mr Ghani had asked the US president to slow the withdrawal because Afghan security forces are bracing for a tough spring fighting season, alongside contending with ISIL fighters looking to recruit on their soil.
The original plan was to cut the US force to 5,500 by the end of this year.
“This visit is an opportunity to begin a new chapter between our two nations,” Mr Obama said after meeting with the Afghan president in the Oval Office.
Mr Ghani was trying to make the case that he’s a reliable partner worthy of US support, despite his fractured government and a litany of problems still rampant in Afghanistan’s military – illiteracy, drug abuse and desertions, to name a few.
The Afghan president arrived midmorning at the White House, where a US military honour guard lined the driveway. Inside, the two leaders chatted casually and sat side by side as reporters were allowed in briefly to observe the start of their meeting.
For the US president, Mr Ghani represents the last, best hope to make good on his promise of ending America’s longest war by the time he leaves office, keeping just a thousand or so troops at the embassy to coordinate security. The White House’s relationship with Mr Ghani’s predecessor, Hamid Karzai, was increasingly dysfunctional, and if the dealings with the current Afghan president don’t turn out better, Mr Obama risks leaving Afghanistan still vulnerable to the kinds of violent extremist groups that operated with impunity until 14 years ago, when the US invaded after the September 11 attacks.
Also at stake is the future of US bases in Jalalabad and Kandahar, where the Taliban had their capital until 2001. US military leaders have seemed receptive to Mr Ghani’s request that those bases stay open as long as possible.
Drawing a contrast with his predecessor, Mr Ghani has taken pains on his US visit to display gratitude for American sacrifices in Afghanistan that the White House found lacking from Mr Karzai. On Tuesday morning, Mr Ghani joined defence secretary Ash Carter and vice president Joe Biden in laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
* Associated Press
