Afghan welcomes broader US Military role against Taliban

Afghanistan on Saturday hailed Washington’s decision to expand the US military’s authority to tackle a resurgent Taliban insurgency, saying the support will boost the capacity of struggling local forces.

The decision will allow US troops, who have been in a training and advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015, to collaborate more closely with local forces in striking the Taliban. “We welcome the US announcement of broader involvement in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan,” defence ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri said. “We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force. Their involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground.” The US announcement comes after Afghan forces, beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, suffered a string of setbacks in 2015 at the hands of the Taliban.

The decision would expand the military’s authority to conduct air strikes against the Taliban when necessary, significantly boosting Afghan forces who currently have limited close air-support capacities. In a statement the Taliban condemned the US decision, saying it would only prolong the conflict and vowed to press on with their 15-year insurgency. Some 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory capacity, down from a peak of around 100,000 in March 2011. That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the year's end.