World

Top US commander proposes slower Afghan withdrawal

The United States is currently slated to draw down to 5,500 troops by the end of the year.

Reuters February 12, 2015

U.S. General John Campbell, commander of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), salutes during the change of mission ceremony in Kabul, December 28, 2014. PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON: The head of US forces in Afghanistan said on Thursday that he has provided his chain of command with new options for a troop drawdown in 2015 that would give US and Afghan leaders more flexibility to respond to security needs on the ground.

Army General John Campbell told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the options, which he supported, dealt with the "glide slope" and "locations" for withdrawals in the summer of 2015. The United States is currently slated to draw down to 5,500 troops by the end of the year.

The head of the panel, Republican Senator John McCain, said that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had told US lawmakers in Munich over the weekend that current US drawdown plans could endanger the Afghan nation.

About 51,000 US-led NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan were withdrawn by December 2014, as Nato ended a long and costly battle against the Taliban, who launched a fierce insurgency after being ousted from power in 2001.

The US has, however, kept a small number of US troops in Afghanistan to impart training and for selective counter-terrorism mission.