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Obama to delay withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan Barack Obama to delay withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan
(35 minutes later)
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. Barack Obama is to keep US troops in Afghanistan beyond next year in response to Taliban advances, including the takeover of Kunduz late last month.
Obama had originally planned to pull out all but a small, embassy-based 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 Taliban and hold onto gains made over the last 14 years of American bloodshed and billions of dollars in aid. Obama, who was elected in 2008 on an antiwar platform, had hoped that he could leave office in January 2017 having ended US involvement on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those hopes are now dashed.
The president is set announce the changes on Thursday morning 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 US president is scheduled to announce on Thursday that 5,500 troops will remain in Afghanistan beyond his departure date. The plan had been for them to leave by the end of 2016.
More soon … Reporters were briefed ahead of the announcement by senior Obama administration officials.
It is at least the second time that the US has had to revise its exit strategy in the face of surges by the Taliban, who, as well temporarily taking Kunduz in the north, control large swaths of the countryside.
Related: However long it lasts, Taliban capture of Kunduz is a major blow to Afghan government
The US defence secretary, Ash Carter, signalled the change in a speech on Wednesday in which he said: “The narrative that we’re leaving Afghanistan is self-defeating. 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 fall of Kunduz was a major blow to the Afghan government and the US military. The US-trained Afghan army, supported by US special forces, were unable to prevent its capture. The Taliban held the city for more than two weeks, only pulling back on Tuesday.
During the fighting, the US bombed a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital, killing 22 people, including 12 MSF staff and 10 patients.
Reporters were told that the present force of 9,800 US troops would remain throughout most of next year, being reduced to 5,500 in 2017. Apart from special forces on the ground with the Afghanistan army, most of the US troops are engaged in training roles, operating from bases in Kabul and in Kandahar in the south.
As well as the Taliban, the Obama administration has expressed concern about Islamic State fighters moving into the country and gaining recruits from within the Taliban.
Other Nato countries with troops in Afghanistan are likely to mirror the US extension.