Matthew Rosenberg and Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times report:
The Obama administration is nearing a decision to keep more troops in Afghanistan next year than it had intended, effectively upending its drawdown plans in response to roiling violence in the country and another false start in the effort to open peace talks between the Talibanand the Afghan government.
This counts, of course, as:
… further evidence of the continuing demands of America’s longest war, which has raged on even after President Obama declared an end to America’s “combat role” in Afghanistan.
Still:
Some of the American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified deliberations over troop strength, said there might not be a public announcement on troop numbers to avoid potential criticism that Mr. Obama is backing away from his pledge to end the war in Afghanistan before he leaves office.
That, of course, is a decision based on political considerations. Keeping the troops in place, on the other hand, is an acknowledgement of the military realities which are that:
On the ground in Afghanistan … conditions remain tenuous. In eastern and southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban have traditionally been strongest, only airstrikes and other help from the American-led military coalition kept the Taliban from seizing significant territory during last year’s fighting season. The insurgents also pushed into parts of northern Afghanistan that were recently viewed as being firmly under government control.
