McCain warns against calendar-based troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
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Version 0 of 1. KABUL — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned Saturday that a calendar-based pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan as outlined by the Obama administration would be a serious mistake, emboldening the Taliban and allowing the country to once again become a stronghold for militants. As part of his effort to end the longest war in U.S. history, Obama has announced plans to close the remaining U.S. bases in Afghanistan and reduce troop strength from 9,800 to 1,000 by the end of 2016. But McCain says that with the rise and spread of Taliban attacks amid the drawdown of U.S. and NATO troops and the emergence of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, Obama’s timetable will put at risk the gains that Western and Afghan troops had made since the fall of the Taliban government. “The most serious mistake the United States could make . . . will be to have a calendar-based withdrawal. That will be a tragedy,” McCain said in Kabul, adding that it opens the door “for the Taliban to gain great success in Afghanistan. “I am deeply concerned about western Afghanistan, where you see the Taliban in control of certain areas; where you see reports of Iranian arms being shipped. We are concerned about certain areas in eastern Afghanistan as well, and of course . . . the rise of ISIS.” McCain spoke at a news conference after holding discussions with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, whose government has been dealing with growing political and internal rivalries in the nearly 10 months since its creation. On Saturday, Ghani’s second nomination for the Defense Ministry was rejected by the parliament, where legislators close to Ghani’s first vice president and key regional strongmen decided to block the nomination. [Frustrated Afghans wonder who is in charge] On the battlefield, the news hasn’t been good either as the Taliban carry out unprecedented attacks. At least two dozen local police were killed Saturday after Taliban forces attacked their posts along a major highway, some 45 miles to the west of Kabul. The clashes in Jalrez, the worst for months, began Thursday. Officials on Saturday said some of the victims were beheaded. This drew stern criticism from Ghani, who called it a war crime. “War is an unpleasant fact, but such behavior can never be tolerated,” he said. “This cowardly act of enemies of Afghanistan is against all principles of war and equals to war crime.” Earlier in the day, several rockets landed inside the main military academy in the western outskirts of Kabul, but they caused no casualties or damage, officials said. And there were reports of clashes between rival militant groups in two northern provinces. McCain says he backs Ghani’s request for a comprehensive intelligence assessment of conditions on the ground to determine the proper size and shape of U.S. troop presence after 2016. He said the persistent Taliban attacks this summer — when there has traditionally been a drop in violence, particularly now since it’s the Islamic holy month of Ramadan — are a sign that NATO and the United States need to keep between 5,000 and 6,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2016. “The Taliban still has significant capabilities, and those capabilities can best be countered by continued U.S. military support and without that the place is at risk,” he said. “That is why so many of us, and so many of the military leaders who have been in the leadership positions in Kabul, say that we should base our withdrawal on conditions.” Read more: Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world |