The United States and Afghanistan signed an agreement on Tuesday, September 30th, to keep US troops in Afghanistan after the previously agreed departure date.
American troops were scheduled to leave at the end of the year, after former Afghan president Hamid Karzai refused to extend the agreement. But now Karzai is gone, replaced by Ashraf Ghani, who made extending troop involvement a campaign promise.
Ghani said, after the signing: “As an independent country… we signed this agreement for stability, goodwill, and prosperity of the people, stability of the region and the world.”
Karzai had refused to sign due to his anger at perceived US responsibility for civilian deaths in the fighting that has torn apart the country since 2001, when American-led forces toppled the Taliban regime.
A similar agreement with NATO was signed soon afterwards, allowing European forces to stay in the country.
Ghani stressed that Afghanistan would retain control over where foreign troops were stationed. “Our air space will be under our own control. International forces will not be able to enter mosques or holy sites.”
12,000 foreign troops will stay in Afghanistan under this new agreement.
Ghani was elected after forming a coalition with his rival, Abdullah Abdullah. A standoff over election results was ended after Ghani became president, with Abdullah accepting the post of Chief Executive.
Most of the forces left behind will have a training role, teaching Afghan forces how to better conduct counter-terrorism operations. Some US special forces teams will remain to conduct offensive missions, however.
by Alex Marinides
