US, Allied Military Review New Options for Afghan Pullback - WSJ

Some officials worry proposed White House troop drawdown leaves Afghan government vulnerable to militant attacks

U.S. and allied defense officials, increasingly wary of White House plans to scale back the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, are reviewing new drawdown options that include keeping thousands of American troops in the country beyond the end of 2016, American and allied officials said.

The top international commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Gen. John Campbell, has sent five different recommendations to the Pentagon and to North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials in Brussels, each with its own risk assessment, officials said.

The options include keeping the current U.S. presence at or near 10,000; reducing it slightly to 8,000; cutting the force roughly in half; and continuing with current plans to draw down to a force of several hundred troops by the end of 2016.  There has been no formal Pentagon recommendation on changes in the troop presence in Afghanistan.

A senior administration official said the White House remains focused on training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces and conducting counterterrorism missions. “We will continue to work closely with President Ghani, the Afghan government, and our international partners to ensure that Afghan forces have the capabilities and training necessary to preserve the gains made by the Afghans and the international community over the last 13 years,” the official said.

The recommendations reflect growing concerns among military officers that current force reduction plans could raise the risk of mission failure in Afghanistan to what one senior military official said would be an “unacceptable level.”

They come as the Afghan government presses Washington to keep current troop levels and as NATO officials say they need a quick U.S. decision if the alliance is to extend the current mission in the country. The U.S. military also needs lead time to plan for any change in troop deployment.

The assessments are certain to inflame a debate in Washington about the future of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama had pledged to shrink the U.S. presence to a small force that could be based at the American embassy in Kabul by the time he leaves office. But critics including Republican hawks have denounced those plans, saying they would lead to Afghanistan’s eventual failure.

If the White House opts to keep a higher number of troops in place, it will fall to Mr. Obama’s successor to determine the long-term role of the U.S. in Afghanistan. - Read More at WSJ

US, Allied Military Review New Options for Afghan Pullback

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