US likely to delay planned closure of Afghan bases
Reuters, Washington :
The US military bases in Kandahar and Jalalabad are likely to remain open beyond the end of 2015, a senior US official said, as Washington considers slowing its military pull-out from Afghanistan to help the new government fight the Taliban.
The anticipated policy reversal reflects the US embrace of Afghanistan’s new and more cooperative president, Ashraf Ghani, and a desire to avoid the kind of collapse of local security forces that occurred in Iraq after the US pull-out there.
It coincides with new efforts backed by Pakistan and China for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Washington has welcomed greater engagement by China, which has helped create a diplomatic opening for reconciliation.
The US military bases in Kandahar and Jalalabad are likely to remain open beyond the end of 2015, a senior US official said, as Washington considers slowing its military pull-out from Afghanistan to help the new government fight the Taliban.
The anticipated policy reversal reflects the US embrace of Afghanistan’s new and more cooperative president, Ashraf Ghani, and a desire to avoid the kind of collapse of local security forces that occurred in Iraq after the US pull-out there.
It coincides with new efforts backed by Pakistan and China for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Washington has welcomed greater engagement by China, which has helped create a diplomatic opening for reconciliation.
