{"id":70019,"date":"2018-08-28T20:36:59","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T20:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/28\/dod-afghanistan-operations-could-hit-22-years-but-dont-call-it-a-permanent-presence\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:40:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:40:44","slug":"dod-afghanistan-operations-could-hit-22-years-but-dont-call-it-a-permanent-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/28\/dod-afghanistan-operations-could-hit-22-years-but-dont-call-it-a-permanent-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD: Afghanistan operations could hit 22 years \u2015 but don\u2019t call it a permanent presence"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=d2590b7e-b410-41b9-abf2-57c864f081a3\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-d2590b7e-b410-41b9-abf2-57c864f081a3.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">That&#8217;s the question MIlitary Times asked in a briefing with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Joseph Dunford.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. operations in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/08\/26\/russian-peace-talks-raise-specter-of-shifting-influence-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Afghanistan<\/a>, now in their 17th year, should not be seen as a permanent U.S. presence there, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Mattis said he wasn\u2019t sure U.S. forces would be gone five years from now, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWould we still have troops in Afghanistan five years from now? I can\u2019t give you the answer to that,&#8221; Mattis said. \u201cWe have to wait and see what the situation is, because it\u2019ll be situationally dependent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. is planning to welcome its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/05\/23\/joint-special-operations-leader-to-be-us-commander-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">17th commander for Afghanistan<\/a> in a change-of-command ceremony in Kabul this weekend. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/06\/29\/senate-confirms-new-military-commander-in-afghanistan-south-korean-ambassador\/\" target=\"_blank\">Army Lt. Gen. Scott Miller<\/a> will assume command from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/08\/22\/trump-strategy-is-working-departing-general-in-afghanistan-says\/\" target=\"_blank\">outgoing Army Gen. John Nicholson<\/a>, who has led the effort in Afghanistan since spring 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/08\/28\/us-airstrikes-in-afghanistan-continue-to-climb-this-month-highest-in-a-decade\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/A-10-Afghanistan.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US airstrikes in Afghanistan continue to climb this month, highest this decade<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Airstrikes in Afghanistan are reaching historically high numbers, despite the lighter footprint of U.S. ground troops in the country.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Nicholson, Miller will be charged with overseeing the approximately 23,000 U.S. and NATO forces now operating in Afghanistan, and their now more than a decade-long mission to stabilize the country, build up its security forces and challenge cyclical increases in Taliban offensives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of those 23,000 forces, about 14,000 are American. About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nato.int\/nato_static_fl2014\/assets\/pdf\/pdf_2018_07\/20180706_2018-07-RSM-Placemat.pdf\" target=_blank>half support the NATO train and advise mission <\/a>under Resolute Support, and another approximately 7,000 U.S. forces are operating under Freedom\u2019s Sentinel, operations to counter Islamic State and other militant groups that have taken root there. Congress has marked $46.3 billion in the 2019 defense bill to pay for the upcoming year\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have permanent interests in South Asia, diplomatic interests and security interests,\u201d Dunford told reporters at a joint press briefing at the Pentagon. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to maintain a presence to have influence in that region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Miller\u2019s responsibility as head of the U.S. and NATO forces there is to assist Afghan forces in applying pressure to Taliban positions throughout the country, to continue to train and equip the Afghan military and its police forces, and to try to get Afghanistan to the point where the Taliban agree to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/08\/07\/mattis-says-peace-talks-with-the-taliban-are-underway\/\" target=_blank>a negotiated peace<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the U.S. first responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by launching operations in Afghanistan in October 2001, almost 900,000 individual soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines or Coast Guard have deployed to Afghanistan and filled 1.2 million tours there, according to the Congressional Research Service. The U.S. has spent more than $1 trillion since 2001 on combat operations, Afghanistan reconstruction, aid and training, the agency has reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/08\/07\/surprise-meeting-raises-hopes-of-peace-talks-in-afghanistan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18191484327620.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Surprise meeting raises hopes of peace talks in Afghanistan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The recent surprise meeting between a U.S. official and the Taliban raises hope that an end to the 17-year-long war could be in the negotiation process.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the Tuesday press conference, Military Times asked: Is it now time to call the U.S. forces there what they appear to be, a permanent presence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis, who was a Marine Corps brigadier general leading the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2001 in Afghanistan, had a pointed response: \u201cAs far as a permanent U.S. presence, No. 1, there are 39 nations there supporting the U.N.-recognized government; it\u2019s not a U.S. presence alone, and it shouldn\u2019t be implied that way.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the core mission, he said, was to defend American interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are there in order to ensure that America\u2019s security \u2014 and just think back to 9\/11 and this building \u2014 that America\u2019s security is not threatened out of that location [again.] That involves the Afghan people being in control of their own future. This is why we talked about an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned reconciliation process. And we believe that the best way to get there is to ensure Taliban recognizes they can\u2019t win on the battlefield, they must negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dunford said as conditions on the ground change, the composition of U.S. personnel assigned there will evolve, but not go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe diplomatic presence, the security presence, and the form of that presence is going to change over time,\u201d Dunford said. \u201cAs an example, just a few years ago, we had over 100,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan and today we have about 14,000. So there will be a permanent diplomatic mission in Afghanistan. There\u2019ll be permanent diplomatic presence across South Asia, but I certainly don\u2019t expect that the current forces that we have in Afghanistan represents an enduring large military commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comment comes at a time when the Pentagon\u2019s current strategy for Afghanistan faces its one-year anniversary and greater scrutiny by the White House, which had been initially reluctant to extend U.S. operations there once President Donald Trump took office. Mattis said the military remains committed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to work this,\u201d Mattis said. \u201cWe think there are positive reasons to stick with the strategy. And we are going to drive this to a negotiated settlement, is our goal. That remains the same.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US forces, diplomats there for forseeable future, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":104611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,89,12,26,62,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3342],"class_list":["post-70019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"E4NTKVM3GVBWDNFXUL5HGEHR2Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2018\/08\/28\/dod-afghanistan-operations-could-hit-22-years-but-dont-call-it-a-permanent-presence\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>DoD: Afghanistan operations could hit 22 years \u2015 but don\u2019t call it a permanent presence - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"US forces, diplomats there for forseeable future, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DoD: Afghanistan operations could hit 22 years \u2015 but don\u2019t call it a permanent presence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"US forces, diplomats there for forseeable future, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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