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| Obama Puts Off Drawdown of U.S. Troops in Afghanistan | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Obama said on Wednesday that he would leave 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan until the end of his term, further slowing the drawdown in a 14-year war that Mr. Obama had pledged to end but now seems likely to grind on indefinitely. | |
| Acknowledging that security in Afghanistan remained tenuous, Mr. Obama said he was adjusting, yet again, a plan to gradually draw down American forces by the end of his term. His announcement leaves his successor with a substantial military commitment in the country, though far less than the close to 40,000 troops who were fighting there when Mr. Obama took office. | |
| “The security situation remains precarious,” Mr. Obama said in a brief statement at the White House. “Even as they improve, Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be. The Taliban remains a threat. They’ve gained ground in some cases.” | |
| The United States currently has slightly fewer than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan who train and equip Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Mr. Obama had left open the option of reducing that number to 5,500 by the end of 2016 or early 2017. | |
| Now, more than 8,000 troops will remain, and it will be up to Mr. Obama’s successor to decide on any further reductions. Mr. Obama recently loosened the rules of engagement for American troops to give them the ability to fight the Taliban directly and more flexibility to carry out airstrikes and wage ground combat in support of Afghan forces. | |
| Mr. Obama cast his decision as a vote of confidence in Afghanistan’s unity government and NATO members and other partners, who have contributed 6,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. But it also reflects that the American hopes of building a viable Afghan force, capable of securing the country, have fallen far short. | |
| “We’ve been able to end our ground war,” Mr. Obama said. But he added, “We have to deal with the realities of the world as they exist.” | |
| Mr. Obama said he had made the decision after a lengthy internal debate, and based on a recommendation from the new American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John W. Nicholson. The Pentagon had argued that the larger number of troops was necessary to provide Afghan forces with enough support to fend off the Taliban. | |
| The decision also reflected worries in the administration that Al Qaeda was regrouping in Afghanistan, and that the Islamic State had established a foothold there. Mr. Obama repeated his vow that he would not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven for terrorists. | |
| There have been multiple signs that the United States is preparing for a long-term counterterrorism campaign in Afghanistan. In May, a missile fired from an American drone killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the head of the Taliban, as he was driving in Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province. | |
| The administration’s decision to assassinate the head of the Taliban, carry out the attack on Pakistani soil and then announce it publicly suggested a new phase in the counterterrorism campaign. |