WASHINGTON – The United States will remain in an armed conflict in Afghanistan – essentially at war – after the end of this year under rules for combat operations the Pentagon requested, and President Barack Obama approved, early this month.
Senior administration officials said that Obama agreed that U.S. military leaders in Afghanistan are authorized to approve combat operations – using ground forces, manned aircraft and drones – under three sets of circumstances.
They include counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida and other “transnational” terrorist groups, protection of U.S. forces engaged in training or other activities and assistance to Afghan forces. Under those circumstances, U.S. forces likely will be engaged in direct combat with the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to them or other members of the remaining international military coalition.
“Our expectation is that the Taliban and al-Qaida will continue to directly threaten U.S. and other forces in Afghanistan,” said a senior administration official who was permitted to discuss the issue only on condition of anonymity.
The new authorizations appeared to be a shift away from Obama’s statement, made in May, that “America’s combat mission will be over by the end of this year. Starting next year, Afghans will be fully responsible for securing their country.”
Obama ordered a reduction in the number of U.S. troops to 9,800 by Jan. 1, and said their mission would be limited to training and advising Afghan forces as well as to counterterrorism against al-Qaida. By the end of 2016, that number is to be reduced to about 1,000 U.S. military personnel attached to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
In explaining the newly-approved rules, which have been sent to the Pentagon to be turned into formal orders, the senior official drew a distinction between America’s “combat mission” in Afghanistan and necessary guidelines for “combat operations” that will continue in specific situations.
Several months of discussions about the authorities, which were first reported by The New York Times, culminated with a meeting in late October in which Obama and his senior national security team listened to and questioned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. John Campbell, who commands U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
