dysfunctional political climate in Afghanistan has resulted in mass migrations of people out of the country, violence against civilians, and corruption in the governing bodies.
With decreased U.S. forces, it is believed that Afghanistan will “plunge the country further into chaos”16 and breed more anti-American terrorists. Additionally, security has become a larger concern in recent years which would require more U.S. military personnel to increase defenses against Afghan neighbors Pakistan, Iran and Russia. Though this approach saves millions of U.S. dollars, it does not guarantee cooperation from the Islamic State. The removal of the troops is a result of demands made by the Taliban to negotiate a peace deal with the United States17 removing some of the leverage American diplomats have established over the years. Though the Taliban have indicated that the withdrawal of foreign troops is a nonnegotiable demand, they still preferred to keep some foreign presence because of the ongoing threat of attacks from other Islamic groups18.
Officials warned the President that removing 7,000 troops would result in negative consequences by giving the extremist groups a space to plan against the U.S. and its allies. Army General Austin Miller, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has expressed that the continued mission in Afghanistan is crucial to protecting U.S. security19. Additionally, removing half of the armed force from Afghanistan could be dangerous if the remaining troops who were spread too thin or short staffed. The Taliban could see this as a weakness and forcibly depose of the rest in a surprise attack. In contrast, supporters of this strategy argue that the “security in the country is deteriorating, despite the existing U.S. military presence there”20. From an economic standpoint, this option seems like a clear winner – less U.S resources in Afghanistan, less money spent abroad, and less time involved in other countries’ domestic issues. However, I would argue the United States has a heightened obligation to ensure peace in Afghanistan and leaving, would undoubtedly lead to more conflict in the future.
Instead of removing all of the troops at once, a more effective method would be to strategically remove them over a period of time, and, in parallel, bring in other organizations like the United Nations to help reconstruct Afghanistan. Post-conflict reconstruction is holistic and multidimensional effort to simultaneously improve military (restoration of law and order), politics (governance), economy (rehabilitation and development) and so
