9800 troops to remain in Afghanistan…oh, and these guys, too

Before ISIS surged in Iraq, the Obama Aministration had told us that they were planning to leave 9800 troops behind in Afghanistan According to Reuters, that number has changed since the Spring;

Of the 9,800, some 8,000 had been earmarked for the NATO force and the remainder for a separate anti-terrorism operation.

The move to increase the U.S. presence left in Afghanistan comes shortly after Obama approved plans to give the U.S. military a wider role to fight the hardline Islamist Taliban movement alongside Afghan forces after the current mission expires.

While Afghanistan’s military and police remain in control of all 34 provincial capitals, violence has risen in the last year and the rate of casualties suffered by local security forces has been described by the U.S. military as unsustainable.

Around 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed already in 2014, more than six percent higher than the same period of 2013.

Funny how that works, huh? We announce that we’re leaving at the end of the year and the enemy decides that he’s going to give us a kick in the ass on the way out the door. At least maybe this administration learned from the ISIS thing that they have to finish the job before we can leave or we’ll be right back.

Thanks to Chief Tango for the link.

Category: Politics