The U.S.’s top commander in Afghanistan said in an interview published Tuesday that he wants to keep as many troops as possible on the ground and would not rule out seeking additional forces.
In an interview with USA Today, Army General John Campbell said he intends to “keep as much as I could for as long as I could.”
“If I don’t believe that we can accomplish the train, advise and assist and the (counter-terrorism) missions, then I owe it to the senior leadership to come back and say, ‘Here’s what I need.’ If that’s more people, it’s more people,” Campbell said.
President Barack Obama has previously announced that the U.S. will reduce its military footprint from 9,800 troops to 5,500 by 2017.
Currently, the U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan are split between the NATO-led training and assist mission, Operation Resolute Support (about 6,800 American troops), and a separate mission tasked with performing counter-terrorism operations.
Campbell will soon meet with senior officials in Washington to discuss the Afghan security situation and make recommendations on troop levels.
“Some of them will not go over well with people…some of them will get approved,” Campbell said of his recommendations, which he declined to specify in the interview.
Responsibility for combat operations was transferred to the Afghan National Security Forces in 2014.
It has been a difficult year for the Afghan army which has suffered heavy casualties in its battle with the Taliban insurgency, including the brief Taliban takeover of the northern city of Kunduz and pitched battles this month in Helmand Province in the south.
The Afghan forces managed to eject the Taliban from Kunduz within days with the assistance of coalition airstrikes and special operation forces while the clashes in Helmand are ongoing.
In addition, ISIS has established a presence in the country’s east, while al Qaeda is reportedly making a comeback in some parts of Afghanistan.