American Occupation in Afghanistan Extended by Obama

  In a not too surprising announcement by President Obama, a decision to pull out American combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 has been reversed. The international military force led by the Americans now will stay in Afghanistan throughout 2015.

  The main reason for the change of heart by the President may be that he sees the need to keep U.S. troops in the fight against the Taliban and other militant groups, the ones that threaten Americans and the Afghan government. With the rapid spread of ISIL after the withdrawal of U.S. occupation in Iraq, it will also serve to keep the ISIL rebels from committing a hostile takeover of Afghan territory. The President was adamant that U.S. troops would leave Afghanistan, but President Obama has taken another look of the possible reactions by terrorist groups in the surrounding countries. The President would be the first one to admit that by pulling troops out of Iraq was the single largest reason for the ISIL insurgence into the country of Iraq today. The main goal will be shifted to keep Americans safe, while they in turn keep fighting the Taliban or whomever provide direct support to al Qaeda.

  Still, the present plan to remove around 4,900 troops by the end of next year still stands. That is approximately half of the total number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan at the moment. With the change of heart, the action by the President will now allow for more air campaigns and the use of drones for support. It's been now 13 years and counting, the amount of time that American troops have occupied Afghanistan. So far there has been 2,351 American soldiers that have perished in the conflicts, holding the largest number of casualties amongst other nations at war in Afghanistan, to include the United Kingdom, but their totals of all other soldiers kills tops 1100, less than half of the total number of American casualties.

  Prior to the election of the new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who now favors extended help from the United States, the dethroned leader, Hamid Karzai wanted American troops out of his country. Will all that is happening in that part of the world, to include Syria, the President is making a very conscious move, even if his will is to remove all American troops from battle in that part of the country before he leaves office. It now is highly unlikely that American troops will leave that region by 2016.

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Unannounced Trip to Afghanistan - WHY?

(CNN) -- President Obama made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Sunday.

The president left his Camp David, Maryland, retreat for the trip and flew to Afghanistan on Air Force One, landing at Bagram Air Base at 7:24 p.m. (around 11 a.m. ET).

Obama then flew on a helicopter to the Presidential Palace for a meeting with Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai.

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What may be his reasons for going, and why a surprise trip?

Afghanistan, which is an Islamic Republic is located in South-Central Asia, and is borderd by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. It is definitely a place I would not want to be. But to his dislike, President Obama found himself sending more and more troops to the area, and now is the time for him to come and visit the troops. President Obama decided it was important in this moment of time to meet with the Afghanistan president, Hamid Karzai. Going back to December 2009, president Obama supported the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan which is a strategy to reverse the Taliban's momentum and stabilize the country's government. In the past, there were imminent threats of overthrowing the government by the Taliban, but recently, "al Qaeda has not re-emerged in Afghanistan in the same numbers as before 9/11, but they retain their safe-havens along the border.
With this said, President Obama plans to start removing troops from Afghanistan by July 2011, and most troops should be back home by the end of President Obama's current term, which ends in January 2013.
By arriving in Afghanistan, President Obama whats to restate his intentions with the U.S. presence in the country.

His 3 main objectives are:

1) Deny al Qaeda a safe haven

2) Reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow Afghanistan's government

3) Strengthen Afghanistan's security forces and government

Sending additional troops is a way to achieve these goals. But Afghanistan has a part in it too. The Afghan government leaders must be held accountable for actions concerning corruption, and do what is necessary to try and save lives, along with help securing its own borders with Pakistan. Since Pakistan is very critical in the war against al Qaeda, mainly because the borders are severely infected with these terrorists, and President Obama no doubt is talking with the Afghan President to work a strategy that works on both sides of the border. Nevertheless, each mission has a deadline, and President Obama only sent the troops because he has a plan, to enter, to execute, and to leave in a timely fashion, as to not put our troops in harms way any longer than needed.

President Obama is in Afghanistan today because he wants to refresh his thinking with President Hamid Karzai.

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