KABUL (SW): Highlighting the need for better coordination between the Afghan and allied forces, a number of analysts have welcomed the U.S. President Barack Obama’s move to allow his forces new authority to target the Taliban.
The U.S. President Barack Obama granted U.S. military commanders more freedom to strike Taliban targets in support of Afghan troops, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Friday. Speaking at an event in Washington, he said that Obama approved the change to let the U.S. commander "anticipate situations in which the Afghan security forces would benefit from our support."
Commenting on the development, analysts have cautiously welcomed the move against terrorist while fearing for hike in civilian casualties.
Kabul Khan Tadbir, a defense affairs analyst, said in this regard that if the U.S. forces conduct operation along with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), it would be a morale booster. “This would lift the spirit of the forces against the rebels, and given them an upper hand in the fight”, he said.
Khan added that the internal pressures on the US government over its failure to bring the rebellion to an end might have led to this decision by President Obama. He noted that the US has invested billions of dollars and have lost hundreds of lives in Afghanistan over the past many years. The analyst went on to say that the US might also carry out cross-border raids in Pakistan against the militants.
In the meantime, Gen. Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has also welcomed the move. Talking to Salam Watandar, Waziri said that this was a longstanding demand by the Afghan government. He added that the actions against militants should be conducted in coordination with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) so that the civilian casualties are averted.
There are about 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and there are calls for a drawdown to about 5,500 in 2017. The drawdown could be slowed within that time frame to keep more troops in the country for as long as possible, but it's not clear that decision has been made. Analysts believe many in U.S. Army are against the drawdown and the latest move is likely to be influenced by the same US Army commanders.
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