|
Fifteen years
after an American-led operation toppled the Taliban in response
to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Barack
Obama is considering whether to maintain the current level of
9,800 U.S. troops or reduce it to 5,500 by the end of the year,
as current plans call for.
"I cannot guarantee success if we keep 9,800, but I can ensure
you failure if we go to 5,500," Republican Senator Lindsey
Graham told reporters in Kabul.
"I will have a hard time supporting our continued presence here
as it's not fair to those left behind... They just can't do the
job. If we go to 5,500 this place will fall apart, quickly."
Graham joined U.S. senators John McCain, Benjamin Sasse, and Joe
Donnelly in a visit timed so the bipartisan delegation could
visit with troops during the Independence Day holiday.
The Obama administration should decide on troop levels "sooner
rather than later," McCain said, arguing that reducing the
number of troops could lead to a repeat of the disaster in Iraq,
where Islamic State militants seized major cities and wide
swathes of territory.
McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, sharply criticized the White House's decision last
year to restrict U.S. forces from targeting Taliban fighters
except in self-defense and other limited circumstances.
Those rules were recently relaxed on the recommendation of
American commanders in Kabul, but McCain said it was "almost
criminal" that the restrictions were in place for more than a
year.
"The rules of engagement were so restrictive that it gave an
advantage to the Taliban and other terrorist groups," the
senator said.
The lawmakers highlighted Afghanistan's history as one of the
original havens for al Qaeda terrorists and pleaded for more
patience.
"Ultimately we're going to win this fight, it's just going to
take decades," Sasse said. "The American people well understand
that staying partnered with a good ally like the Afghan
government is the best way to deny future safe havens to those
who would plot jihadi attacks across the globe."
(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Nick Macfie)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
