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Ghani Wants U.S. Troops to Stay in Afghanistan Longer U.S. Agrees to Slow Pullout of Troops From Afghanistan
(about 11 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan is expected to urge President Obama in a White House meeting on Tuesday not to pull American military forces out of his country as quickly as planned, requesting an extension of assistance in combating a tenacious Taliban insurgency. WASHINGTON — The United States will halt the withdrawal of 9,800 troops from Afghanistan, half of whom were scheduled to leave in the months ahead, and instead keep them in the country through the end of 2015.
Mr. Ghani, making his first trip to the United States as president of his country, will meet throughout the morning with Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., discussing the future of American involvement in what Mr. Obama once declared a “necessary” war. President Obama’s decision not to pull American military forces out of Afghanistan as quickly as planned came after a direct entreaty from the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, who has been visiting the United States this week.
Mr. Obama has pledged to withdraw all but about 1,000 troops by the time he leaves office at the beginning of 2017. Current plans call for the 10,000 troops now in the country to be reduced by half in the months ahead. “I’ve decided that we will maintain our current posture of 9,800 troops through the end of this year,” Mr. Obama said on Tuesday afternoon in a joint news conference with Mr. Ghani in the East Room of the White House.
But Mr. Ghani is hoping to keep those troops in his country as long as possible. “This flexibility reflects our reinvigorated partnership with Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama said, including making the country more secure and preventing it from being used to launch terrorist attacks.
While the decision will mean that some American soldiers who had expected to return home will rotate back into Afghanistan “for a few extra months,” Mr. Obama said, the additional time will be “well worth it.”
The extension was needed in part “so we don’t have to go back,” Mr. Obama said, “so we don’t have to respond in an emergency because terrorist activities are being launched out of Afghanistan.”
Another factor in halting the drawdown, he said, was the “lengthy period” it took for Afghans to form their new government.
Mr. Ghani, who expressed gratitude to American troops and taxpayers for their support in his country so far, said the extension would allow his military to better prepare for the total withdrawal of United States forces, still scheduled for the end of 2016.
“Much binds us together, and the flexibility that has been provided for 2015 will be used to accelerate reforms to ensure that the Afghan security forces are much better led, equipped, trained, and are focused on their fundamental mission,” Mr. Ghani said, mostly speaking in English during the news conference.
The announcement was not unexpected. Administration officials had strongly suggested in recent days that Mr. Obama would agree to slow the pace of the troop withdrawal.
Mr. Ghani, making his first trip to the United States as president of his country, met throughout the morning with Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., discussing the future of American involvement in what Mr. Obama once declared a “necessary” war.
Mr. Obama has pledged to withdraw all but about 1,000 troops by the time he leaves office at the beginning of 2017.
“The question is how much flexibility is there in the drawdown between where we stand today and that end point in early 2017,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters at the White House on Monday. “President Ghani has indicated a desire to bring that up and discuss that personally with the president.”“The question is how much flexibility is there in the drawdown between where we stand today and that end point in early 2017,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters at the White House on Monday. “President Ghani has indicated a desire to bring that up and discuss that personally with the president.”
That discussion is scheduled to take place during the morning meetings and at a working lunch in the Old Family Dining Room in the White House. Mr. Ghani and Mr. Obama are scheduled to hold a news conference together after the meetings. While the primary mission of Mr. Ghani’s trip is a military extension, he is also using his visit as a public relations blitz aimed at repairing Afghanistan’s reputation as a country whose leaders have taken American help for granted over the past decade.
Mr. Earnest declined to make any announcement ahead of the meetings, but administration officials have strongly suggested that Mr. Obama would agree to slow the pace of the troop withdrawal.
While the primary mission of his trip is a military extension, Mr. Ghani is also using his visit as a public relations blitz aimed at repairing Afghanistan’s reputation as a country whose leaders have taken American help for granted over the past decade.
In a series of appearances on Monday, Mr. Ghani repeatedly thanked American troops for their sacrifices in his country, and he promised that Afghanistan would reciprocate by building a government that could stand on its own economically, socially and militarily.In a series of appearances on Monday, Mr. Ghani repeatedly thanked American troops for their sacrifices in his country, and he promised that Afghanistan would reciprocate by building a government that could stand on its own economically, socially and militarily.
“Reciprocating the gift means owning our problems, solving them and asking of ourselves what we must do for ourselves and for the region,” Mr. Ghani said at a news conference with American officials after meetings at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland.“Reciprocating the gift means owning our problems, solving them and asking of ourselves what we must do for ourselves and for the region,” Mr. Ghani said at a news conference with American officials after meetings at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland.
His efforts will continue on Wednesday with an address to a joint meeting of Congress, and on Thursday, when Mr. Ghani will meet with world leaders at the United Nations in New York.His efforts will continue on Wednesday with an address to a joint meeting of Congress, and on Thursday, when Mr. Ghani will meet with world leaders at the United Nations in New York.