KABUL (SW): Analysts are sceptical about the prospects for peace in the near future considering the potential deployment of at least 4000 more U.S. soldiers.
According to a report by the AP, the Pentagon will send almost 4,000 additional American forces to Afghanistan, according to a Trump administration official, an attempt to break a stalemate in a war that has now passed to a third US commander-in-chief. The decision by defense secretary Jim Mattis could be announced as early as next week, the official said, and will be the largest deployment of American manpower under Donald Trump’s young presidency.
It follows Trump’s move to give Mattis the authority to set troop levels and seeks to address assertions by the top US commander in Afghanistan that he does not have enough forces to help Afghanistan’s army against a resurgent Taliban insurgency. The rising threat posed by Islamic State extremists, evidenced in a rash of deadly attacks in the capital city of Kabul, has only fueled calls for a stronger US presence, as have several recent American combat deaths.
The bulk of the additional troops will train and advise Afghan forces, according to the administration official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A smaller number would be assigned to counterterror operations against the Taliban and Isis, the official said
Jawed Koshistani, an analyst on military affairs, told Salam Watandar this move would only fuel more fighting and proxy wars by the regional countries in Afghanistan. Atiqullah Amarkhail, former Chief of the Afghan Air Force (AAF), said in this regard that the U.S. only aims to strengthen its view point about the situation with additional deployments. He stressed a better alternative is improved training, backing and equipping of the Afghan forces.
In Saturday’s session, a number of Wolesi Jirga (lower house) members urged upon the U.S. Administration to take practical steps towards eliminating sanctuaries of terrorists in Pakistan.
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