WASHINGTON — The chairman and nearly two-dozen Republicans on the US House Armed Services Committee (HASC) are urging President Obama to maintain American boots on the ground in Afghanistan, and calling the planned withdrawal “premature.”
HASC Chair Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, signed off on the letter, spearheaded by Rep. Brad Westrup, R-Ohio, asking that current troop levels of 9,800 be maintained through the end of 2016 — a move that would end Obama’s plan to bring home nearly all US troops before he leaves office. About two-thirds of Republicans on the HASC signed off on the letter.
The letter sets the stage for troop levels to be a focal point when the top US general in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Campbell, testifies before the HASC on Thursday. Under Campbell, the US has been shuttering bases around the country while maintaining its advise-and-assist mission.
On Tuesday, Campbell confirmed before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he has presented his chain of command with options outside of the planned troop drawdown to about 1,000 embassy-based forces by 2017.
The recent growth of the Taliban and other terrorist networks, coupled with the United States’ willing partner in President Ashraf Ghani, are among the reasons the US should stay, the letter reads. Though Campbell resisted comparisons to the withdrawal from Iraq and the rise of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, there, Republicans cite that as a chief concern.
“After 14 years of war, we have a deep appreciation for peace,” it read. “However, we must recognize that the fight against violent extremism cannot be won overnight. We must learn from our experience in Iraq and be careful to not put the progress we have made in jeopardy. Withdrawing from a country does not mean the problem goes away. Instead, premature withdrawal in Iraq allowed ISIS to take advantage of the nascent Iraqi Security Forces. We cannot allow this to happen again in Afghanistan.”
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