Obama: 5,500 troops to stay in Afghanistan

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama reverses course in Afghanistan: 5,500 troops through 2017 President Obama announced Thursday that he will keep a force of 9,800 in the country for most of next year and a contingent of 5,500 for 2017.

President Obama has abandoned his plan to withdraw nearly all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, saying Thursday that he will keep a force of 9,800 in the country for most of next year and a contingent of 5,500 for 2017, the year he leaves office.

"While America’s combat mission in Afghanistan may be over, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures," Obama said in announcing a policy reversal that basically prolongs American involvement in the longest war in U.S. history.

Obama, who had planned to reduce the number of U.S. troops to around 1,000, stressed the bigger residual force will not be engaged in combat operations. They will instead be involved in the "narrow but critical missions" of counter-terrorism operations and the ongoing training of Afghan security forces, he said.

The 5,500 troops who will remain in Afghanistan after 2016 will be stationed at a "small number of bases," Obama said, calling the extension "modest, but meaningful." While Afghan forces have improved in recent months, he said, they are "still not as strong as they need to be" and require sustained U.S. assistance.

"The nature of the mission has not changed, and the cessation of our combat role has not changed," Obama told reporters at the White House.

Flanked by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, Obama again called on Afghanistan's government to reach "a lasting political settlement" with the Taliban and other opposition forces.

The president said he made the decision after consulting his national security team and Afghan officials following a months-long review of security challenges in the war-torn nation.

Obama had originally planned to leave no more than 1,000 troops in Afghanistan — mostly for embassy protection and other security responsibilities — by the end of his presidency in January 2017.

In his new announcement, Obama said he has decided to maintain 9,800 troops for most of next year, a number to be reduced to 5,500 troops by 2017 at bases that include Bagram, Jalalabad in the east and Kandahar in the south. The pace of that draw-down is still to be determined.

Obama's change in policy follows military successes by Taliban insurgents against the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan, including the brief capture of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. It was the first seizure of a major city by the Taliban since they were ousted from power by U.S. forces in 2001.

In unveiling their new plan, Obama and aides said they have more confidence in keeping more troops in Afghanistan because of good relations with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, a more reliable partner than predecessor Hamid Karzai.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who had protested Obama's initial withdrawal plan, said he is pleased with the revision, but questioned whether the new residual forces are big enough.

"I am concerned that the number of troops will not be sufficient to perform the critical tasks being set for them: counter-terrorism and continuing to train and advise our Afghan partners," said McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The United States and allies launched an invasion of Afghanistan in October of 2001, a month after al Qaeda planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks from bases in the country then run by the Taliban. Obama pointed out that, at times during the war, the United States has had more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

While the U.S. has backed a new government, it continues to the target of the Taliban and other insurgents, and western officials are concerned that Afghanistan could again become a haven for terrorists if the government falls. "If they were to fail," Obama said, "it would endanger the security of us all."

Obama's announcement means Afghanistan will play a bigger role in the 2016 presidential campaign to replace him in the Oval Office.

A Republican candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said he is glad that Obama is not abandoning Afghanistan. But Bush, citing reports that some Pentagon officials believe a bigger force is needed, said that Obama "shouldn’t short change what our military commanders have said they need to complete the mission."

Administration officials have been hinting at the new policy for weeks.

Obama, who inherited wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq when he took office in 2009, did withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq in late 2011. But the American military is now providing renewed assistance in that country after the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

In discussing the Afghanistan troop extension on Thursday, Obama said he knows that many Americans are "weary" of the conflict in Afghanistan. The president said he does not believe in "endless war," but there remains an opportunity to forge a stable country that can prevent the emergence of future threats, an effort in which more than 2,200 Americans have given their lives.

"Afghans are making difficult but genuine progress," Obama said. "This modest, but meaningful extension of our presence -- while sticking to our current, narrow missions -- can make a difference. It's the right thing to do."