国际英语新闻:Obama Slows US Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan

WHITE HOUSE—For an American president who came into office with a promise to end U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the announcement to slow the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was likely not an easy one.

"I do not support the idea of endless war," President Barack Obama said. "I repeatedly argued against marching into open-ended military conflicts that do not serve our core security interests."

Flanked by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Vice President Joe Biden and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, Obama announced Thursday he will maintain the current number of American troops in Afghanistan at 9,800 through most of 2016, before trimming that number to 5,500 by the time he leaves office in January 2017.

'Months of continued talks'

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the decision Thursday, saying in a statement that it followed “several months of continued talks between the two presidents.”

Ghani added that the decision “once again shows renewal of the partnership and strengthening of relations of the United States with Afghanistan on the basis of common interests and risks.”

"The combat mission has ended,” Carter explained. “The mission now on a day-to-day basis is train, advise and assist, and counter terrorism."

Carter said the U.S. is intent on fostering stability in Afghanistan over the long term and will not give up gains that U.S. forces have fought so hard to achieve in that country. He said America's national security remains very much at stake in Afghanistan.

The U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be stationed at a small number of bases, including Bagram, Kandahar in the south, and Jalalabad in the east.

The administration had originally planned to keep only about 1,000 U.S. forces post-2016, with a focus on protecting the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

Kunduz is game-changer

"I think what happened in Kunduz is instructive. You had a situation where Afghan troops retook the city of Kunduz from the Taliban, but only with the assistance of U.S. forces," analyst Michael Kugelman told VOA.

"I don’t think there would have been a happy ending in this takeover or this retaking of Kunduz if it weren’t for U.S. support," said Kugelman, who is senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

In addition, "pressure from Pakistan has resulted in more al-Qaida coming into Afghanistan, and we have seen the emergence of an ISIL presence," the U.S. president said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

"In key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile. In some places there is risk of deterioration," he added.

Obama maintained the goal in Afghanistan will not change, after the United States ended its combat role in the war torn-country late last year. He said remaining U.S. troops will continue to train Afghans and focus on counter-terrorism.

“While America’s combat mission may be over, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures,” Obama said. “As commander in chief, I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again.”