A top general hinted Thursday that American troops will de deployed in Afganistan on a near-permanent basis, and said the United States faces a “protracted, protracted fight” against terrorist groups such as the Islamic State.
“I don’t know if it’s a ‘forever war;’ define forever,” Army Gen. Joseph Votel, who leads the United States Central Command, said during a Q&A at the Aspen Institute. “I think we have to be committed to this. I think this is a protracted conflict against these organizations. A successful operation in Mosul won’t eliminate ISIL. They will go to the next version of ISIL. They will adapt and we will have to adapt.”
President Obama decided to leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan earlier this month, reversing a plan to more aggressively wind down the U.S. presence in the country due to instability in the country.
Votel compared the the fight against the group to a wrestling match that constantly shifts as one side scores a point and then the other.
Votel addressed the permanence of a U.S. deployment repeatedly, despite his hesitance to make policy statements without conferring with the Obama administration. His clearest statement came when asked, “is the U.S. going to leave [Afghanistan] again?”
“We’ve made an investment there with our people, with our lives,” he replied. “We certainly understand the importance of the area, so, again, from the perspective of the CENTCOM commander — looking forward without the benefit of any policy discussion on that — my inclination would be yeah, we should stay. Yes. These are our partners. We’ve expended a lot here.”
