3,000 U.S. Troops To Remain In Afghjanistan After Withdrawal?

Shamil Zhumatov. Reuters

Not-So-Cold Turkey: US Ponders Leaving 3,000 Troops In Afghanistan After ‘Withdrawal’ -- RT

US President Barack Obama considers leaving 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, while three other options are being hotly debated between the White House and the US military, with the latter believing such a small figure to be a mistake.

The key factors relate to the four options being discussed as to the number of troops and where they’ll be positioned. The United States has been in discussions over the past months as to the longer-term implications of such a decision, the Washington Post reports.

An update on the government’s decision-making will be given by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at an upcoming high-level NATO meeting with his peers in Brussels this week, a senior official said. Regarding numbers, it is too soon to tell, but “we’ll have to tell people where we stand in our thinking and planning,” a top official told the Post.

Read more ....

Update: U.S. examines Afghanistan option that would leave behind 3,000 troops -- Washington Post

My Comment: This will be a mistake. In a country as large as Afghanistan these numbers will have zero impact on Afghanistan .... it will be only used for "show". In fact .... the only impact that it will have will be political (in both the U.S. and Afghanistan) that the U.S. is still committed to Afghanistan.