Obama Pushes Controversial Plan

President Obama, elected to the White House seven years ago on a pledge to pull back on America’s protracted presence in the region, said Thursday that changing circumstances on the ground in Afghanistan required U.S. troops to remain there beyond his presidency to combat al Qaeda and train local security forces.

“While America’s combat mission in Afghanistan may be over, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures,” Obama said.

He added: “It’s the right thing to do.”

Thursday’s announcement marked an abrupt turnaround from a plan he outlined last year, in which he envisioned keeping only a security force of 1,000 at the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

Instead, Obama said the 9,800 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan would stay through most of 2016, and then be reduced to 5,500 troops working out of military bases in Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar.

The announcement, made in a national televised address, followed a months-long review of America’s battle against the Taliban, which was launched after the 9/11 terror attacks by Obama’s predecessor, former president George W. Bush, and continues to rage.

Obama said the situation in Afghanistan — the ability of local security forces to defend themselves, new aggression by the Taliban, efforts by ISIS to move into the country — was “still very fragile, and in some places there is a risk of deterioration.”

The Taliban’s efforts to retake territory includes an assault on the city of Kunduz last month that prompted U.S. airstrikes which mistakenly destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital.

The United States also wants to avoid a repeat of what happened in Iraq following a reduction of American troops there: political chaos, more fighting, and the growth of ISIS. The turmoil forced Obama to increase the number of troops there.

“As commander in chief, I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again,” Obama said.

Obama’s decision ensures that both wars will likely be inherited by his successor.

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