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| Obama orders Pentagon to prepare for full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan | Obama orders Pentagon to prepare for full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan |
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| US president Barack Obama formally ordered the Pentagon on Tuesday to make plans for a full pullout of American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year, pointing to a way out of the conflict that is reminiscent of his end to the Iraq campaign. | US president Barack Obama formally ordered the Pentagon on Tuesday to make plans for a full pullout of American troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year, pointing to a way out of the conflict that is reminiscent of his end to the Iraq campaign. |
| While the Obama administration reiterated that it would prefer to maintain a residual military presence in Afghanistan, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has refused to sign an accord that would pave the way for some US forces to remain. That has forced the administration to begin a contingency plan for a full departure after Nato formally ends hostilities in November. | While the Obama administration reiterated that it would prefer to maintain a residual military presence in Afghanistan, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has refused to sign an accord that would pave the way for some US forces to remain. That has forced the administration to begin a contingency plan for a full departure after Nato formally ends hostilities in November. |
| A similar rebuke from the Iraqi government prompted all almost all US troops to leave there in 2011. | A similar rebuke from the Iraqi government prompted all almost all US troops to leave there in 2011. |
| Obama told Karzai during a Tuesday morning phone call that while he would prefer Karzai or his successor to sign the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement reached with the Afghans in November, “the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning,” according to a White House description of the call. | Obama told Karzai during a Tuesday morning phone call that while he would prefer Karzai or his successor to sign the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement reached with the Afghans in November, “the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning,” according to a White House description of the call. |
| Since November, the Pentagon has urged Karzai to sign the deal, but has stopped short of formally preparing for what is known as the “zero option,” or full withdrawal. | Since November, the Pentagon has urged Karzai to sign the deal, but has stopped short of formally preparing for what is known as the “zero option,” or full withdrawal. |
| But defense secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that it was prudent “to ensure adequate plans are in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014”. | But defense secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that it was prudent “to ensure adequate plans are in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014”. |
| Hagel said that over the next several months, the US military will prepare “various options” for US and Nato leaders, including a full withdrawal of the approximately 37,000 US troops in Afghanistan, as well as the post-2014 missions of counter-terrorism and training for the Afghan security forces it has long desired. | Hagel said that over the next several months, the US military will prepare “various options” for US and Nato leaders, including a full withdrawal of the approximately 37,000 US troops in Afghanistan, as well as the post-2014 missions of counter-terrorism and training for the Afghan security forces it has long desired. |
| Relations between the Afghan government and the US military have been acutely strained over the past several weeks. Earlier this month, the Kabul-based military command, under marine general Joseph Dunford, sharply rebuked its erstwhile Afghanistan partners for releasing 65 detainees it said had US and Afghan blood on their hands. | Relations between the Afghan government and the US military have been acutely strained over the past several weeks. Earlier this month, the Kabul-based military command, under marine general Joseph Dunford, sharply rebuked its erstwhile Afghanistan partners for releasing 65 detainees it said had US and Afghan blood on their hands. |
| Dunford is said to favor a residual force in Afghanistan of around 10,000 troops, fearing that a full US departure after December will leave Afghanistan vulnerable to a reinvigorated push from the Taliban insurgents the US and its allies have failed to subdue after 12 years of war. Dunford will testify before the Senate armed services committee about US plans for Afghanistan on 12 March, the committee announced Tuesday. | |
| Administration officials told the Guardian that they expected to discuss a future presence or full withdrawal from Afghanistan in Brussels at a Nato summit of defense ministers later this week. | Administration officials told the Guardian that they expected to discuss a future presence or full withdrawal from Afghanistan in Brussels at a Nato summit of defense ministers later this week. |
| Preparations for a withdrawal from Afghanistan are complicated by the fact that the use of air bases there are not solely focused on waging war. Bases like Kandahar in the south and Jalalabad in the east are also platforms for flying surveillance and armed drones into neighboring Pakistan, and surveillance drones have also likely flown from Kandahar into Iran. | Preparations for a withdrawal from Afghanistan are complicated by the fact that the use of air bases there are not solely focused on waging war. Bases like Kandahar in the south and Jalalabad in the east are also platforms for flying surveillance and armed drones into neighboring Pakistan, and surveillance drones have also likely flown from Kandahar into Iran. |
| Losing access to Afghan air bases may likely prompt the US to look for alternative regional launchpads in central Asian states, an uncertain prospect complicated by their dismal human rights records. In 2005, Uzbekistan revoked US access to its Karshi-Khanabad air base following a diplomatic row over a bloody crackdown that May in Andijan province. | Losing access to Afghan air bases may likely prompt the US to look for alternative regional launchpads in central Asian states, an uncertain prospect complicated by their dismal human rights records. In 2005, Uzbekistan revoked US access to its Karshi-Khanabad air base following a diplomatic row over a bloody crackdown that May in Andijan province. |
| On Tuesday afternoon, Hagel was scheduled to meet at the White House with secretary of state John Kerry and Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser. | On Tuesday afternoon, Hagel was scheduled to meet at the White House with secretary of state John Kerry and Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser. |
| Should an elected successor to Karzai also decline to sign the bilateral accord, it would mark the second time in three years that the host government of a bloody, protracted US military campaign rebuked its Washington sponsor. | Should an elected successor to Karzai also decline to sign the bilateral accord, it would mark the second time in three years that the host government of a bloody, protracted US military campaign rebuked its Washington sponsor. |
| In 2011, the Iraqi government refused to allow Obama to maintain a residual presence in Iraq – a decision Obama used to campaign for reelection on a tide of ending US wars, and which has come under harsh scrutiny after forces loyal to al-Qaida proclaimed themselves in control of parts of Anbar province last month. | In 2011, the Iraqi government refused to allow Obama to maintain a residual presence in Iraq – a decision Obama used to campaign for reelection on a tide of ending US wars, and which has come under harsh scrutiny after forces loyal to al-Qaida proclaimed themselves in control of parts of Anbar province last month. |
| Despite Obama’s stated preference for a future US troop presence in Afghanistan, the White House said Obama told Karzai that the longer Washington goes without an accord, “the more challenging it will be to plan and execute any US mission,” and the greater the likelihood that any post-2014 US presence “will be smaller in scale and ambition.” | Despite Obama’s stated preference for a future US troop presence in Afghanistan, the White House said Obama told Karzai that the longer Washington goes without an accord, “the more challenging it will be to plan and execute any US mission,” and the greater the likelihood that any post-2014 US presence “will be smaller in scale and ambition.” |