Obama slows pace of US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan
Reversing policy on Afghanistan, President Barack Obama announced on October 15 he will prolong the 14-year-old US military engagement there, effectively handing off the task of pulling out troops to his successor.
Calling it a "modest but meaningful" adjustment to winding down the American presence in Afghanistan, Obama said Afghan forces were not yet as strong as they needed to be given a "very fragile" security situation and the United States will maintain a force of 9,800 through most of 2016.
Obama had previously aimed to withdraw all but a small US embassy based force in the capital, Kabul, before he leaves office in January 2017. Under the new plan, troops will be drawn down to 5,500 starting sometime in 2017 and will be based at four locations - Kabul, Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar.
Obama has been under pressure from his military advisers, Republicans, and a bipartisan group of national security experts to keep US forces in Afghanistan, particularly as Afghan forces have struggled in assaults from Taliban militants, who briefly took over the northern city of Kunduz.
On October 15, Republican critics warned against rushing to cut troops in 2017. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the proposed 5,500 US troops would be inadequate to handle both counter terrorism missions and training and advising Afghan troops.
McCain said it was unlikely that senior military leaders and commanders on the ground had recommended this force level, adding, "It would have been far better to halt all further troop withdrawals and allow President Obama's successor to determine what is warranted based on conditions on the ground."
At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter rebuffed criticism from McCain and others over the planned 5,500 troops.
Obama, a Democrat, has faced steady criticism from Republicans on security issues as he has wound down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he inherited when he took office in 2009.