WASHINGTON — The United States should keep a residual force of about 10,000 in Afghanistan after combat forces leave at the end of 2014, the Senate Republican leader said Monday after a series of meetings with military leaders in the country.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, who led a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and Israel, expressed optimism about an 11-year war that now stands as the longest in American history, and the prospect of Afghans assuming a lead role in the fighting.
“My observation about Afghanistan at this point is this is the first time I’ve left there with a sense of optimism,” he told reporters in a conference call. “I think there’s a widely held view among the American military leaders there - we met with Gen. [John] Allen - that this has a very great potential for a happy ending after 2014, provided we have a residual force that we can provide for training.”
The United States now has66,000 troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. and its NATO allies agreed in November 2010 to withdraw all their combat troops by the end of 2014, but they haven’t decided on the scope of future missions to contain al-Qaida or the size of a remaining force.
Obama administration officials gave the first clear signal last week that it might leave no troops in the country after December 2014. Administration officials in recent days have said they are considering a range of options for a residual U.S. troop presence of as few as 3,000 and as many as 15,000, with the number linked to a specific set of military-related missions like hunting down terrorists.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is believed to favor an option that would keep about9,000 troops in the country.
McConnell said the military leaders were somewhat cautious about pushing for a specific number as the decision will be made by the White House. The Kentucky lawmaker, who made his seventh trip to Afghanistan, did make his own recommendation.
“I think we’re going to need a minimum of about 10,000 troops to provide adequate training and counterterrorism in the post-2014 period and we anticipate there will be forces from other countries that will remain here beyond 2014 as well,” McConnell said.
The number from the Senate GOP leader could influence other members of Congress as they weigh the continued American presence in Afghanistan amid increasing war-weariness from constituents.
A sticking point for President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who met last week, is whether any U.S. troops remaining after 2014 would be granted immunity from prosecution under Afghan law. Immunity is a U.S. demand that the Afghans haveresisted, saying they want assurances on other things - like authority over detainees - first.
Karzai on Monday floated the idea that Afghans should hold a “loya jirga” - a national assembly of elders - to make the decision on U.S. troop immunity.
The United States has said that it needs to maintain sole legal jurisdiction over its forces in Afghanistan as part of the agreement for forces that will stay after 2014. In Iraq, it was the Iraqi government’s refusal to grant such jurisdiction that caused U.S. troops to completely quit that country.
“We want our national sovereignty and the Americans want the safety of their soldiers,” Karzai said in Kabul. “They don’t want their soldiers to be under the laws of another country.”
Also Monday, Karzai announced that the United States would give Afghanistan its own fleet of aerial surveillance drones.
Although Karzai took pains to note that the drones will be unarmed, such aircraft couldsignificantly help the Afghan forces’ reconnaissance and surveillance abilities. Spy drones have been a crucial part of efforts to track down Taliban insurgents in the country and watch over coalition forces in the field. But the aircraft have been operated strictly by Western forces.
In addition to the drones, Karzai said he was promised another 20 helicopters and at least four C-130 transport planes.
As of Monday afternoon, U.S. officials would not detail any agreements reached on the number or type of aircraft that will go to the Afghan government, other than to say that discussions are still under way.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 01/15/2013