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December 6, 2014 5:00 pm - NewsBehavingBadly.com

There will be 1000 troops staying on in Afghanistan past what was suppose to be the end of combat at the conclusion of 2014.

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Hagel, confirming a change in the U.S. drawdown schedule first reported by Reuters in November, said the additional forces were needed because delays in signing security pacts had impacted plans to raise troops from other countries.

However, he also said that a particularly violent surge of Taliban attacks in Kabul in the last two weeks was a reminder of the continued need for a foreign presence.

“The recent wave of Taliban attacks has made it clear that the international community must not waver in its support for a stable, secure and prosperous Afghanistan,” said Hagel, who arrived in Kabul unannounced on Saturday morning.

The NATO-led combat mission in Afghanistan officially ends in two weeks with a sharp reduction in western forces, but troops that stay behind will still provide “combat enabler” support to Afghan soldiers, Hagel said.

The United States will also maintain a mission to fight al Qaeda in the country, he added.

“We have not forgotten what brought America to Afghanistan over a decade ago,” Hagel said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

“And we will take appropriate measures against Taliban members who directly threaten U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan or provide direct support to al Qaeda.”[su_csky_ad]

D.B. Hirsch
D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

9 responses to U.S. Keeping More Troops In Afghanistan Than Planned

  1. StoneyCurtisll December 6th, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    First…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywnmlJFHY5o

  2. Carla Akins December 6th, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    I cannot even pretend to have anything more than a cursory knowledge, I can only hope POTUS does and/or listens to the experts that have our best interests at heart.

    • burqa December 6th, 2014 at 11:27 pm

      President Obama could not have known years ago where things would be now, and his projections back then were a goal, but circumstances have intruded to change things. The Afghans have been slower than projected to be able defend themselves. A lot of it is due to the corruption of the Karzai regime, and I imagine the same continues today.
      It’s a mess, a miserable environment, what with the way various factions have always fought each other, making it next to impossible to have a strong central government that can provide security and govern efficiently.

      • Carla Akins December 7th, 2014 at 5:04 am

        Thank you Burqa

  3. Red Eye Robot December 6th, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    Curses! You’ve been Grubered again!

  4. Obewon December 6th, 2014 at 11:10 pm

    Outgoing SOD “Hagel said U.S. forces could fall only to 10,800 troops, rather than 9,800 as originally planned. The additional troops could stay until the first few months of 2015.” This isn’t even remotely similar to Halliburton Cheney’s $6 Trillion+ faux Iraq oil war with 4,500 US KIA and 100,000 U.S. injured via 165,000 U.S. deployed.

    3/19/2003 Iraq deployed by USA 150,000 invasion 165,000 peak, withdrawn 12/2011.
    3/19/2003 Iraq deployed by United Kingdom: 46,000 invasion, withdrawn 5/2011.
    11/7/2014 President Obama authorized the deployment of up to an additional 1,500 U.S. troops to Iraq in the coming months, doubling the number of Americans meant to train and advise Iraqi and Kurdish forces to 3,000 U.S. training advisers in Iraq.

    • burqa December 6th, 2014 at 11:42 pm

      Yes, and when they sent the troops into Iraq for the “cakewalk,” they said they’d be home for Christmas, 9 months later…….

  5. fancypants December 7th, 2014 at 3:15 am

    Did the headline say keeping troops in the stan / Iraq or Sending more troops ( about 2,000 more ) to fight ISIL

    ———————————————————————————

    As about 250 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division prepare to deploy in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the military continues to work to identify who might go to Iraq next as part of a 1,500-troop increase authorized in early November by President Obama.

    The 250 soldiers from 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will begin deploying to Iraq in late December.

    Their deployment, announced Dec. 1, is not part of the 1,500-troop increase authorized Nov. 7 by Obama.

    http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2014/12/01/about-250-fort-bragg-soldiers-deploy-support-iraq-operations/19741789/