By Franz-Stefan Gady
A White House meeting today will determine whether more troops will stay in the country in 2015.
The White House is considering slowing down troop withdrawals from Afghanistan due to the enduring volatile security environment in the country. According to theWashington Post, President Barack Obama and his national security team will convene today to consider giving the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, more flexibility in readjusting the withdrawal schedule based on the general’s recommendation. Gen. Campbell will be present at the White House meeting today.
This is the second time that the United States is adjusting its withdrawal schedule. Back in December 2014, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that 1,000 more U.S. combat troops than originally planned would remain in Afghanistan into early 2015. According to White House officials, the request to retain more troops in the country came directly from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
However, the current slow-down will not alter the U.S. president’s determination to end the U.S. military mission by early 2017, according to defense analysts. The Washington Post quotes a White House official as saying, “The defining elements of the plan are more or less intact. All we’re looking at at this point is either variations within those or subtle variations of” the withdrawal schedule. He further notes that the national security team of the president is “cognizant of the fact that we’ve got to get in front of the so-called spring fighting season in Afghanistan.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat