The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan says he could recommend extending the mission and maintaining U.S. troops in the country, Army Times reports.
"I'm taking a look and assessing every day based on the enemy situation, based on how much we're getting done with the Afghans, how they're progressing on their lines of effort, how the [Train, Advise and Assist mission] is going, how the government's coming along, [and] if we can really get after the objectives that we set," said Gen. John Campbell, commander of the Resolute Support mission, during an interview Jan. 15 with Army Times.
There are about 10,600 U.S. troops in Afghanistan today; plans call for that number to drop to 9,800 by May 1 and 5,500 by the end of the year. It's too early to say, Campbell said, if he'll ask for permission to keep more troops in theater.
"Do I need to go back in and say do we need longer or do we need that glide slope? I'll continue to work that with my chain of command at [Central Command] and the Joint Staff," he said. "We just got to Resolute Support, and we have another fighting season to go through. We're just learning at this reduced level. I think in the next couple of months I'll be able to make that call."
Gen. Campbell highlighted several different threats facing Afghanistan in the interview with Army Times. Those threats include:
- Islamic State: The terrorist group is recruiting in Afghanistan and could spread its message throughout the country.
- Taliban: The Taliban still remains a threat in the country. The group continues to carry out high-profile attacks.
- Afghan National Security Forces: The Afghan army and police still have a lot of work to do before they are capable of maintaining stability in the country. Corruption remains rampant among the force.
- The training mission: The United States continues to close "seams and gaps" that need to be worked out. According to Army Times, "the Resolute Support mission is focused on eight essential functions," including budgeting, transparency, strategy and policy planning, and intelligence capabilities, among others.