MONITORINIG (SW) – According to new report, the US has closed at least 10 bases across Afghanistan since the signing of a deal with the Taliban in February.
As per this report by the Washington Post, the base closures are part of the complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan outlined in the deal. An Afghan official and a US official confirmed the closure of the bases, several of which were previously unreported. The officials, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.
Little is known about what remains of those bases, many in Afghanistan’s most volatile provinces where US support for Afghan operations has been critical in pushing back the Taliban. Some have been completely handed over to Afghan security forces. Others may have been vacated and left in place in a way in which they could be occupied again in the future if US and Afghan officials consider it necessary. It is also unclear how much equipment — more difficult to move than people — is left at each of the closed installations.
In interviews, half a dozen former and current US and Afghan officials told the Washington Post that uncertainty still surrounds the plans to bring down troop numbers from roughly 5,000 to 2,500 by Jan. 15, days before President Trump leaves office.
A second US official familiar with ongoing discussions around the drawdown said details are still being worked through on what equipment — ranging from spare vehicle parts to ammunition — needs to be sent back to the United States and what can be turned over to the Afghan government.
A third US official with knowledge of ongoing discussions said that a number of significant decisions are to be made or finalized over the next two weeks, including which other bases will close, what equipment will be turned over to the Afghan government, and how US equipment will be ticketed to leave.
The decisions will be made in consultation with both NATO allies and Afghan partners, the official said.
Analysts and Afghan officials say further closures show that the United States is collapsing its forces in Afghanistan back into its bigger military installations to save on the large number of troops needed to secure the perimeter of multiple small outposts. The move also brings US troops closer to medical facilities as the American footprint in Afghanistan shrinks, and would make it easier to evacuate the country rapidly if security disintegrates.
It is unclear how many bases remain open in Afghanistan, in part because the total number of military sites has not been made public. Even the bases that were once the largest in the country, like Kandahar Air Field and Jalalabad Air Base, now house a handful of US troops, according to Afghan officials.
A reduction to 2,500 troops now is also not the preferred option of senior military officers. Former defense secretary Mark T. Esper recommended in a classified memo to the White House early this month that the conditions on the ground did not merit cutting deeper than 4,500. He cited the best military advice of senior US commanders, said two senior US defense officials with knowledge of the discussion.
One of the concerns raised by senior military officials focuses on how much support and security the remaining US service members can provide to the State Department, US intelligence agencies and aid organizations, two other US officials said.
The Pentagon has continued to withdraw forces throughout the year despite language in the February deal stating that further withdrawals must be linked to conditions met by the Taliban. The central condition of the deal, one that calls on the Taliban to break ties with international terrorists including al-Qaeda, has not yet been met, according to testimony by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and United Nations research papers.
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