Exclusive - U.S. force in Afghanistan may be cut to less than 10,000 troops

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan may drop well below 10,000 - the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces - as the longest war in American history winds down, Obama administration officials briefed on the matter say.

Since Afghanistan's general election on April 5, White House, State Department and Pentagon officials have resumed discussions on how many American troops should remain after the current U.S.-led coalition ends its mission this year.

The decision to consider a small force, possibly less than 5,000 U.S. troops, reflects a belief among White House officials that Afghan security forces have evolved into a robust enough force to contain a still-potent Taliban-led insurgency. The small U.S. force that would remain could focus on counter-terrorism or training operations.

That belief, the officials say, is based partly on Afghanistan's surprisingly smooth election, which has won international praise for its high turnout, estimated at 60 percent of 12 million eligible votes, and the failure of Taliban militants to stage high-profile attacks that day.



Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/21/uk-usa-afghanistan-idUKBREA3K1DM20140421

[Skittles]

1. how long does it take to "train Afghan forces"?

some of the soldiers doing the training now were 6 years old on 9/11/01

[Lasher]

6. It takes less time to train a brain surgeon.

Maybe they are skipping class.

[Jesus Malverde]

7. amazing that...nt

[NYtoBush-Drop Dead]

9. OH J C!

BRing back our troops already!

[olddad56]

18. I doubt if they are going to bring them back, maybe move them to Poland.

[jakeXT]

2. We have found one brigade for Poland /nt

[NeoConsSuck]

3. 10,000 too many (no msg)

[davidpdx]

4. It seems from the article that the drop to below 10,000 wouldn't happen until the end of the year

and is still contingent on whether the new Afghan Government wants to sign an agreement to have troops after 2015. Personally I think because they put it off we should tell them the door is closed and we are pulling out at the end of the year. If they aren't even going to make a decision, what other choice does the US have? They can't plan missions and deployments if they don't know how many troops they'll need. To top that off, we need to decrease military spending and go through the process of fixing all the damage that has been done to the military over the past decade.

[hughee99]

8. You must mean drop to ZERO by the end of the year.

I distinctly remember the Vice presidential debates where Biden said we'd be out by the end of 2014 come hell or high water.

[davidpdx]

12. I do too

That's why I'm hoping an agreement won't be reached. I have bad feeling though one will be at the last minute.

[Lasher]

14. Obama promised as late as September 2012 that they would all be out this year.

Obama gets ahead of himself on Afghanistan pullout

9/2/12 11:35 AM EDT

"We are bringing our troops home from Afghanistan. And I've set a timetable. We will have them all out of there by 2014," Obama told an audience in Boulder.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2012/09/obama-gets-ahead-of-himself-on-afghanistan-pullout-134120.html

[davidpdx]

15. Well that is one issue I AM willing to hold his feet to the fire on

I have a friend who is over there right now. She just had two grandchildren born recently and is working on a DBA like I am. Hoping she'll make it out before Christmas to be with her family.

[Lasher]

16. I don't know if you noticed, but I edited because I found a more informative source.

I predict they will not all be out by the end of this year unless Afghanistan throws them out like the Iraqis did. Some will be renamed so that we won't notice they are still there. The ones who are withdrawn will be called combat soldiers and the ones remaining will be called something more benign. Some folks will say The President is just being pragmatic. But I'm kinda old fashioned, I still think promises matter.

What's a DBA, database administrator certification?

[davidpdx]

19. I hadn't noticed the updated info

DBA is doctorate of business administration.

[Lasher]

20. That is impressive.

That seems like the kind of degree that could open doors. Good luck to you.

[freshwest]

11. Wonder how many Americans are in Pakistan? That's what most of this is probably about now.

If the government there goes Taliban, they'll have nukes and might threaten others with them. Afghanistan is just the staging area for several groups in the region that want to gain power. The border between Afghanistan and its neighbors appears to be meaningless. They aren't thinking in terms of nations, but a larger entity. And they are just so very excited about it all...

[OnyxCollie]

5. Ah, but how many contractors?

Force caps do not apply to contractors.

[Xolodno]

10. Yeap!

Contracts purchased with US Dollars that we give as "aid" to the Afghan government...minus a small percentage for the "bureaucracy" of Afghanistan.

[TheKentuckian]

13. I'm looking for something like zero including contractors.

This debacle is way past it's expiration date.

[Lasher]

17. It's our longest war, ever.

War is bad enough, but a long war is foolish.

[TheKentuckian]

21. Especially one so lopsided. Nary a tank, fighter jet, or naval fleet to be seen

from the enemy, a world away.