Wednesday, January 22, 2014

A New U.S. Plan To Keep U.S. Soldiers In Afghanistan After 2014

U.S. Military Proposal Seeks Shorter Afghan Stay -- Wall Street Journal

U.S. military leaders have presented the White House with a plan that would keep 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

WASHINGTON—U.S. military leaders have presented the White House with a plan that would keep 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014, but then start drawing the force down to nearly zero by the end of President Barack Obama's term, according to senior officials.

The request reflects a far shorter time frame for a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan than commanders had previously envisaged after the current international mission ends this year. The new approach is intended to buy the U.S. military time to advise and train the Afghan army but still allow Mr. Obama to leave office saying he ended America's longest war, the officials said.

Military leaders told Mr. Obama that if he rejects the 10,000-troop option, then it would be best to withdraw nearly all military personnel at the end of this year because a smaller troop presence wouldn't offer adequate protection to U.S. personnel, said officials involved in the discussions.

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My Comment: I have come to the conclusion that the Karzai government is in the same place that the Iraq government was when they decided to not sign a security agreement with the U.S. in 2011. In short .... the Karzai government wants the Americans out .... and any proposal from the White House that is different from this Afghan government position will probably be rejected and/or ignored.

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