President Obama plans to announce Thursday that he will keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan into 2017 and maintain the current level of 9,800 troops through "most of 2016."
The Washington Post reported that Obama decided on the plan after "extensive months-long review" during which he held talks with Afghan leaders, his national security advisers, and U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official.
Obama had initially intended to significantly scale back American presence in Afghanistan to a small embassy force of about 1,000 troops by the time he leaves office.
It was reported just last week that the president was considering leaving around 5,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through 2016 and focusing on a plan introduced by Gen. Martin Dempsey before he stepped down from his position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The plan that Obama has settled on is based on the one brought forth by Dempsey, according to officials, but the president reviewed several other proposals for a larger U.S. force in the country, assumedly including multiple developed by Gen. John Campbell, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
At least one of Campbell’s options reportedly involved maintaining the current troop level of about 10,000, nearly double the size of the force the president plans to leave behind after he exits the White House. Citing the rise of the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) and insurgent violence, Campbell told the Senate Armed Services Committee last Tuesday that Obama should drop his plan to scale back U.S. presence to a small embassy force in favor of one keeping more troops in the country.
Last week, Iraq war veteran Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R., Ohio) and nearly two dozen other members of the House Armed Services Committee penned a letter to Obama urging him to keep the current U.S. troop level of 9,800 in Afghanistan through 2016.
"We cannot now withdraw from our footprint in the country, at places like Bagram’s Air Force Base, and leave a vacuum for the reemerging Taliban to fill," Wenstrup said Wednesday, pointing to Campbell’s congressional testimony. "It would be a mistake to end our counterterrorism operations based on political timelines."
Earlier this week, data from the United Nations indicated that the Taliban has the most power in Afghanistan that it has had since American forces ousted the group in 2001.
American troops in the country will continue to train and advise the Afghan forces. Additionally, the U.S. will keep drones and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan to continue counterterrorism operations and strike al Qaeda and other terror groups like the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS) threatening the homeland.
The president’s plan is expected to cost about $15 billion annually.
UPDATE 11:24 A.M.: This post has been updated to clarify the pace at which U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan under President Obama's new instructions. An earlier version said that 5,500 troops would be kept in Afghanistan "through 2016." In fact, the current force of nearly 10,000 troops will be maintained through most of 2016, and drawn down to 5,500 by 2017.