Retired generals, diplomats warn Obama against troop cuts
A group of retired US generals and senior diplomats has warned President Barack Obama that a planned drawdown of US troops in Afghanistan threatens to undercut Afghan security forces and bolster the Taliban.
The thirteen men, who oversaw US military and diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan, urged Obama in an open letter to maintain current US troop levels in that country through the end of his term.
They included retired Army general and former CIA Director David Petraeus and four other former top commanders of US-led international forces in Afghanistan, as well as five former US ambassadors to that country.
“It would likely have helpful effects on refugee flows, the confidence of the Taliban, the morale of the Afghan military and Afghan people, the state of the Afghan economy and perhaps even the strategic assessments of some in Pakistan,” they wrote.
“Conversely, we are convinced that a reduction of our military and financial support over the coming months would negatively affect each of these,” the letter, published in The National Interest magazine, added.
The officials asserted that a troop reduction would allow al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIL) to extend their reach and cause Afghanistan to “revert to the chaos of the 1990s.”
The letter came days before the current US military commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, is expected to submit his troop recommendations to senior military leaders.
There are currently about 9,800 military personnel in Afghanistan. Under Obama's current plan, the troop level is due to drop to 5,500 by 2017.
The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but security still remains a top challenge in the war-torn country.
Taliban forces lately have gained new ground and rejected peace negotiations with the Afghan government.
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