Military preparing for slowed Afghanistan drawdown

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

The military is preparing for the likelihood that its drawdown in Afghanistan will be extended, leaving a greater number of troops in the country longer to give additional support to the new government in Kabul.

 

House Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, told reporters Thursday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spoke with him earlier this month and asked for U.S. troop levels to remain level, according to reports.

 

In a joint press conference in Kabul last weekend with Ghani, brand-new U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S. is “considering a number of options to re-enforce our support for President Ghani's security strategy, including possible changes to the timeline for our drawdown of U.S. troops.”

 

Ghani’s government is seen as more pro-U.S. than his predecessor’s, and in recent months the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell has begun the groundwork to retain a large enough force in Afghanistan to give the new government continued support.