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Obama Leaves ‘Symbolic’ Troop Presence in Afghanistan to Defend US Empire

CC BY 2.0 / DVIDSHUB / Re-enlistment on top of Alexander's CastleU.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Andy Veres, left, Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul commander, re-enlists Master Sgt. James Sandifer, Forward Operating Base Smart mayor, on top of Alexander's castle in Qalat City, Afghanistan, July 7
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Andy Veres, left, Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul commander, re-enlists Master Sgt. James Sandifer, Forward Operating Base Smart mayor, on top of Alexander's castle in Qalat City, Afghanistan, July 7 - Sputnik International
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President Barack Obama decided to leave more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan as a symbolic show of force to deter insurgents, reassure Kabul and protect America's empire of military bases, experts told Sputnik.

US Troops in Afghanistan - Sputnik International
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This is How Much More the US Will Spend to Keep More Troops in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, Obama announced that the United States will keep 8,400 US military personnel in Afghanistan until the end of the current administration, despite previous plans to reduce the number to 5,500.

"By keeping troops in Afghanistan, the United States is trying to maintain its worldwide credibility as a superpower, to show that it has not ‘abandoned’ Afghanistan and was not defeated," University of Arizona Professor of History David Gibbs told Sputnik.

The United States wants to defend Afghanistan, Gibbs noted, because it is clearly part of America’s "empire of bases," and key to projecting power on every continent.

"In addition, the US troops serve as a symbolic support for the Afghan government, to remind insurgents that the United States can fully reengage at any time," Gibbs suggested.

However, Gibbs warned, the never-ending US presence in Afghanistan generates unsustainable financial costs, which also generates public resentment.

The basic dilemma remains that the war in Afghanistan has entered its fifteenth year with no end in sight, while the American people are clearly exhausted, Gibbs added.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Vice President Joe Biden, speaks about Afghanistan. - Sputnik International
‘Blood and Treasure’: Obama to Keep 1000s of Troops in Afghanistan
Middle East Institute scholar Marvin Weinbaum, who served as an analyst for the US Department of State’s Intelligence and Research Bureau, told Sputnik that the troop level is not as important as Obama signaling to the Afghans and Taliban that the United States intends to continue its commitment to the country’s security.

"A few thousand troops, more or less, will not by itself make the difference in determining whether the Taliban can be prevented from making further gains or can be rolled back," Weinbaum explained.

Without mentoring, logistical and intelligence support and the air power the United States and its allies bring to bear as enablers, the Afghan security forces cannot be expected to stand up to the insurgents, Weinbaum noted.

Moreover, without US financial assistance the Afghan army would go unpaid and quickly melt away, he observed.

"At its core, American strategy is to buy time for the Afghan forces to be able to stand more on their own and for the Afghan government to gain the confidence of its own people," Weinbaum argued.

As a result, Weinbaum maintained, Kabul could make the case that the government, rather than the Taliban, "hold the country's future."

On Wednesday, US Senator John McCain said that considering Obama described the security situation in Afghanistan as "precarious," it is difficult to understand the strategic rationale for not maintaining the current level of 9,800 troops in the country.

Last month, the Defense Department changed its rules of engagement in Afghanistan by lifting restrictions on US troops, allowing them to "proactively" target Taliban fighters. The change followed significant Taliban advances over the past year, jeopardizing Afghan Security Forces and US interests in the country.

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