The U.S. Will Keep More Soldiers in Afghanistan

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has revised his policy to withdraw about 10,000 U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan by the end of 2016. International news agencies report that the President's decision will be officially announced on Thursday, October 15. A senior U.S. official stated that under the new decision, 9,800 American soldiers will remain in Afghanistan until 2016, and by the end of that year or early 2017, their number will be reduced to about 5,500. Previously, it was planned that the number of U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan would decrease to one-tenth by the end of 2016, reaching 1,000. However, due to concerns over the security situation in Afghanistan and increasing unrest in the country from groups like the Taliban and the Islamic State (ISIS), this plan has been revised. Just a day earlier, Ashton Carter, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, announced that the U.S. would have more soldiers in Afghanistan than originally planned after the end of 2016. Mr. Carter added that repeating the narrative that the U.S. is leaving Afghanistan is 'counterproductive.' The U.S. has led the multinational forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan since 2001. In that year, international forces led by the United States overthrew the Taliban regime and paved the way for the country's transition to democracy. Last week, the U.S. Secretary of Defense also mentioned that several NATO defense ministers had expressed their readiness to adjust their current plans in Afghanistan. Ashton Carter's remarks came shortly after the Taliban militants achieved their biggest success since 2001 by temporarily capturing the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan. Afghan government forces, with NATO's assistance, recaptured the city. In this context, the U.S. is compensating the families of the victims of the 'Kunduz' incident.