Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that he has already made phone calls to NATO allies to shore up support for them to increase their troop presence in Afghanistan along with the U.S.
President Obama announced Thursday that the U.S. will keep just under 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan conducting counterterrorism and training missions through “most of” 2016. After that, the troop level will drop off to 5,500 going into 2017.
The revision marks a departure from a plan that would have removed all but about 1,000 troops for an embassy presence from Afghanistan by the time Obama leaves office in 2017.
Carter said the increase honors the sacrifice of the 2,200 American troops who died there over the past 14 years and “gives us the chance to finish what we started.”
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2574118/
The U.S. has 9,800 troops in Afghanistan, and 6,800 of them are dedicated to the 13,000-strong NATO force. The rest are involved in counterterrorism and other missions.
To Capitol Hill critics of the plan who say even the 5,500 number is too law, Carter responded that the Pentagon “did a lot of homework” on what the best estimate would be for a necessary U.S. force presence.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Carter had conversations about Afghanistan with NATO allies in Brussels last week and said the secretary left “feeling confident” that they will step up and contribute their own troops.
He said the Pentagon has an idea of the level of commitment it can expect from allies, but could not provide an exact breakdown.
