President Obama just visited Afghanistan. He gave a short speech while he was there which details the withdrawal plan of the US.
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Now that US President Barack Obama has unveiled the drawdown plan for his troops in Afghanistan, India has clarity about three things: it has two years to firm up its Afghanistan strategy; that it will have to do so with less than a third of the present number of US soldiers there; and that it must brace for more attacks on its interests, both at home and in Afghanistan.
By the end of this year, the U.S. will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan to 9,800 and further cut that number by half by end-2015, subject to the Kabul administration signing a bilateral security agreement with Washington.
Making the announcement, Obama said: "We have to recognise that Afghanistan will not be a perfect place, and it is not America's responsibility to make it one."
Both the number of residual U.S. troops and Obama's comments hold significance for India and its future engagement in Afghanistan.
For one, the residual U.S. forces would perhaps be just enough to quarantine its own perceived security threats to the region but grossly inadequate to curb a Taliban resurgence much the same way that sectarian violence returned to Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal.
US says goodbye to Afghanistan: what it means for India - Hindustan Times
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Now that US President Barack Obama has unveiled the drawdown plan for his troops in Afghanistan, India has clarity about three things: it has two years to firm up its Afghanistan strategy; that it will have to do so with less than a third of the present number of US soldiers there; and that it must brace for more attacks on its interests, both at home and in Afghanistan.
By the end of this year, the U.S. will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan to 9,800 and further cut that number by half by end-2015, subject to the Kabul administration signing a bilateral security agreement with Washington.
Making the announcement, Obama said: "We have to recognise that Afghanistan will not be a perfect place, and it is not America's responsibility to make it one."
Both the number of residual U.S. troops and Obama's comments hold significance for India and its future engagement in Afghanistan.
For one, the residual U.S. forces would perhaps be just enough to quarantine its own perceived security threats to the region but grossly inadequate to curb a Taliban resurgence much the same way that sectarian violence returned to Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal.
US says goodbye to Afghanistan: what it means for India - Hindustan Times