US General: Afghans need US troops to counter the Taliban
Afghanistan’s military forces need US assistance to successfully counter the Taliban, the top general of the US Special Operations Command said to Congress on Thursday in the midst of the debate over whether US forces should remain in the country beyond May 1.
General Richard Clarke also reiterated the sentiments of other military leaders, saying it is clear that the Taliban has not upheld its commitment to reduce violence in Afghanistan and has instead made a conscious decision to step up attacks. These attacks have largely been on the Afghans and have not targeted the United States
President Joe Biden has said it will be “hard” for the United States to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, which was set in a peace deal between the Trump administration and the Taliban. But if the deadline is extended, Biden said, it would not last much longer.
Biden’s comments, backed by military leaders’ assessments of the precarious situation in Afghanistan, lay the groundwork for a decision on America’s strong presence in the country nearly two decades after the war began.
“The capabilities that the United States provides for the Afghans to be able to fight the Taliban and other threats residing in Afghanistan are critical to their success,” Clarke said.
However, he declined to give any details about possible options, which he has outlined to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on how he could provide the necessary counter-terrorism troops or capabilities if special forces are not physically in Afghanistan.
Instead, Clarke noted that no decision has been made on the withdrawal, adding that “we will always provide opportunities” to deter or defeat al-Qaida, the Islamic State group or other terrorist threats.
Similarly, Christopher Maier, acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations, expressed concern when asked about another troop recall decision by the Trump administration that led to the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Somalia.
Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Said he was against this decision and questioned whether it was the right move.
Maier said a review of this decision is underway, adding: “From my perspective, there are likely to be significant disadvantages to withdrawing from the cost and efficiency perspective.”
More broadly, Clarke and Maier said the Special Operations Command has taken steps to shift some of its focus to the superpower competition against China and Russia.
And Clarke said he has also worked to reduce the pace of operations for the command forces, which he said has been too focused on deployments and missions.
After nearly 20 years of persistent counter-terrorism operations in war zones and across the globe, special forces have seen increases in suicide and misconduct.
Clarke, who commissioned a review last year to address the issues, said they have cut the deployment by approx. 20% and have shifted leadership out of overseas headquarters to more closely monitor and train their forces.
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