According to Reuters, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said that bringing all U.S. troops home is something that the Obama administration would “consider.”
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Asked about consideration of a so-called zero-option once the NATO combat mission ends at the end of 2014, Rhodes said: “That would be an option that we would consider.”
The news comes as recommendations by the top military commander in Afghanistan called to keep as many as 15,000 troops in the country. But Rhodes made it clear that a decision on post-2014 troop levels isn’t expected for some months and will be based on two U.S. security objectives in Afghanistan; denying a safe haven to al-Qaeda and ensuring Afghan forces are trained and equipped so that they, and not foreign forces, can secure the nation.
“There are, of course, many different ways of accomplishing those objectives, some of which might involve U.S. troops, some of which might not,” Rhodes said, briefing reporters to preview Karzai’s visit.
In 2011, Obama decided to pull out all U.S. forces in Iraq after negotiations with the Iraqi government to secure immunity for U.S. troops failed.
But some White House officials and war experts are saying that the administration should leave between 6,000 and 15,000 troops in the country.
Jeffrey Dressler, an Afghanistan expert at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War who favors keeping a larger presence in Afghanistan, questioned whether the White House comments might be part of a U.S. bargaining strategy with Kabul.
“I can’t tell that they’re doing that as a negotiating position … or if it is a no-kidding option,” Dressler said. “If you ask me, I don’t see how zero troops is in the national security interest of the United States.”
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Is military presence in a war-torn country more important that bringing our soldiers home? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
SOURCE: Reuters
