Input not asked for Afghan 'zero option'
2013-01-17 22:13
Brussels - Top military planners on the Nato-led mission
in Afghanistan were not asked to give their views on the possibility of all US
troops being pulled out of the country after 2014, a senior Nato officer said
on Thursday.
The fact that top planners have not been asked for input
suggests the so-called "zero option" might not be being looked at
seriously by US President Barack Obama's administration.
Analysts have said that the US administration may have
floated the idea as a tactic to put pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai
while the two sides negotiate over the future US military presence in
Afghanistan, including issues such as whether foreign soldiers would be immune
from prosecution.
"We have not been asked to or been required to
provide a conversation [advice] with respect to the zero option," the Nato
officer said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.
Asked about the "zero option" last week, US
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said it was "an option that we
would consider", contradicting the long-held expectation that thousands
would remain to train and advise Afghan forces.
Alarmed Afghan lawmakers said disaster and civil war
would follow if Washington pulled out all of its troops.
There are some 66 000 US troops in Afghanistan. The US
and other foreign forces there are gradually reducing their troops as Afghan
forces take charge of the nation's security.
General John Allen, the top US and Nato commander in
Afghanistan, has suggested keeping between 6 000 and 15 000 US troops in
Afghanistan after 2014, according to US officials.
The White House has asked recently also for options to be
developed for keeping a lower range of troops, between 3 000 and 9 000, in the
country, officials said.
The senior Nato officer said on Thursday he expected firm
numbers on the size of the post-2014 mission in Afghanistan to emerge
"within a couple of months" and that many of the numbers quoted by
media "have not been accurately reported".
"It is less about a particular number than it is
about how well that mission can be executed at a particular number," the
officer said.
Troops to leave Afghanistan
The US expects other Nato allies to contribute in
addition between a third and a half of the number of troops that Washington
decides to leave in Afghanistan after 2014, he said.
"In the post-2014 period, whatever the US number is,
add a third of that or a half to that," he said.
The number of bases that the post-2014 force will operate
from would be cut back sharply, the officer said.
"[We] have about 226 bases remaining in Afghanistan
that we have to close over the remaining 23 months and that number varies
because we are closing bases every day - as fast as we can actually," the
officer said.
The post-2014 force would be likely to operate out of Bagram
airfield near Kabul, retain offices in the Afghan capital, and have staff at
the Afghan military training centres, he said.
Depending on the size of the force, it could have
advisers in key Afghan regions or could employ mobile training teams, going
from one Afghan regional headquarters to another, he said.
