President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan over Memorial Day weekend.

President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan over Memorial Day weekend. U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Sandra Welch

Obama Wants All U.S. Troops Out of Afghanistan by 2017

President Obama wants to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan next year, then shrink to a ‘normal embassy presence’ by 2017. By Stephanie Gaskell

This story has been updated throughout.

America’s longest war just got a little longer.

President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he wants to keep 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to continue fighting past the planned 2014 end of combat operations – and those troops would all leave by the end of 2016. The decision not only ends the unpopular war, but it begins what Obama is calling “a new chapter in American foreign policy.”

On Wednesday, the president will give the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he will “discuss how Afghanistan fits into our broader strategy going forward.”

“The bottom line is, it's time to turn the page on more than a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Obama said in a statement at the White House. “When I took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in harm's way. By the end of this year, we will have less than 10,000. In addition to bringing our troops home, this new chapter in American foreign policy will allow us to redirect some of the resources saved by ending these wars to respond more nimbly to the changing threat of terrorism while addressing a broader set of priorities around the globe.”

The decision to leave U.S. forces behind is not a done deal, and it’s not up to Obama. It depends on whether Afghanistan’s next leader will sign a Bilateral Security Agreement that will govern U.S. troops after official combat ends. Both of the leading candidates to replace Afghan President Hamid Karzai have said they would sign the agreement “promptly after taking office,” Obama said. A runoff is set for June 14.

“I think Americans have learned that it's harder to end wars than it is to begin them,” Obama said. “Yet this is how wars end in the 21st century, not through signing ceremonies but through decisive blows against our adversaries, transitions to elected governments, security forces who are trained to take the lead and ultimately full responsibility.”

The number is in line with Obama's top military commander in Afghanistan. In January, Gen. Joseph Dunford said he would like to see 10,000 troops stay until 2017. 

The continued presence of NATO and allied forces is unclear, though it will likely be about half the size of the U.S. commitment. The details will begin to be hammered out at the NATO defense ministerial meeting in Brussels on June 4. And the drawdown would be gradual, Obama said. At the end of 2015, the number of troops would be cut in half and would be based in Kabul and Bagram. By the end of 2016, U.S. presence “will draw down to a normal embassy presence with a security assistance office in Kabul, as we have done in Iraq,” a senior administration official said. There are currently about 32,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly advising and assisting the Afghan security forces.

Republicans were quick to fire back at Obama’s announcement. Sens. Lindsay Graham, of S.C., John McCain, of Ariz., and Kelly Ayotte, of N.H., issued a joint statement calling the decision “a monumental mistake and a triumph of politics over strategy.”

“Today’s announcement will embolden our enemies and discourage our partners in Afghanistan and the region. And regardless of anything the president says tomorrow at West Point, his decision on Afghanistan will fuel the growing perception worldwide that America is unreliable, distracted and unwilling to lead,” the trio said.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., said Obama’s decision “doesn’t make a lick of sense strategically.”

“Does the President seek to replicate his mistakes in Iraq where he abandoned the region to chaos and failed to forge a real security partnership? We are in Afghanistan because it was the spawning ground of al-Qaeda and the devastating attack on American soil. Those threats still exist. We leave when the Afghans can manage that threat, rather than on convenient political deadlines that favor poll numbers over our security."

But senior administration officials told reporters that “setting dates has been helpful over the course of the last several years in having predictability.” One official said that setting a deadline to put Afghan security forces in the lead ‘helped to prepare them and that helped provide certainty as they plan their own operations. And they've performed well, and they have been in the lead. And you have not seen U.S. and international forces in the lead for combat since that transition took place.”

Ret. Gen. John Allen, who commanded U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013, told Defense One he agrees with Obama's decision to set a timetable. "It provides certainty to our Afghan allies and to the people of Afghanistan of our commitment to their future. This strikes a blow to the Taliban narrative of abandonment," Allen said. 

Obama’s announcement came on the heels of a surprise visit to Afghanistan over Memorial Day weekend. The president did not meet with Karzai, but told U.S. troops there that they have been successful in their mission during the past 13 years of war in Afghanistan. “After all the sacrifices we’ve made, we want to preserve the gains that you have helped to win. And we’re going to make sure that Afghanistan can never again, ever, be used again to launch an attack against our country,” he said.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.