Taliban attacks complicate US drawdown in Afghanistan, raise 2015 concerns

The formal end of the U.S. combat mission is Dec. 31. 

The Taliban typically launch their fiercest offensives when the cold weather breaks, but have steadily attacked foreigners and coalition targets in advance of that date

Sen. John McCain suggests the "unusual" winter attacks are a bad sign.  "We're going to see the same movie we saw in Iraq," the Republican senator, and likely next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News. 

That the Taliban would seek to destabilize the new Afghan government once the U.S. combat mission formally ends is almost a certainty. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford warned in August, as he stepped down as U.S. commander in Afghanistan, that the Taliban would mount another assault in summer 2015. 

Whether such an offensive would scramble Obama's schedule for an orderly U.S. withdrawal, and potentially keep troops there longer than planned, is an open question. 

As McCain referenced, the U.S. was pulled back into Iraq after the war technically ended, to respond to the horrific violence inflicted by the rampaging Islamic State. He and others worry about a similar scenario in Afghanistan.

"Nothing has changed about the fact that the combat mission ends at the end of this month and that we're going to begin a new mission in Afghanistan," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said after last week's attacks in neighboring Pakistan.

Kirby argued that the Taliban were not able to disrupt this year's elections in Afghanistan and, while acknowledging "sporadic violence "in Kabul, voiced confidence in the ability of Afghan security personnel.  

"It is still a dangerous place," Kirby said, adding that's why the U.S. is working on supporting Afghan security forces going forward.  Read More at foxnews