U.S. weighs slowing Afghan withdrawal to ensure 'progress sticks': Carter
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - The United States is considering slowing a planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan to ensure that "progress sticks" after more than a decade of war, new Defense Secretary Ash Carter said during an unannounced visit to Kabul on Saturday.
Under the current plan, the United States will halve the number of troops in Afghanistan to just over 5,000 this year, gradually winding down to a "normal" U.S. embassy presence by the end of 2016.
That schedule could now change, at least in part, suggested Carter on his first trip abroad since swearing in as the Pentagon chief on Tuesday, as the United States also rethinks the future of its counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.
His remarks set the stage for talks next month when the Afghan president is expected in Washington.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/21/us-afghanistan-usa-idUSKBN0LP02D20150221
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http://www.msnbc.com/up/watch/us-weighing-troop-presence-in-afghanistan-402384451913
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- And with peace breaking out between Russia and Ukraine because of those meddling Germans and Frenchies, the MIC will need another spigot opened into the US Treasury, or just keep one they were closing opened longer.
[center]Scrapping equipment key to Afghan drawdown
Those MRAPs that the Pentagon has deemed unnecessary have been arriving by the dozen at scrap yards at four U.S. military bases in Afghanistan in recent months. Toiling under the searing sun last week at this vast base in southern Kandahar province, contract workers from Nepal and other countries in the region wore fireproof suits and masks as they used special blowtorches to dismantle vehicles built to withstand deadly blasts. It takes about 12 hours to tear apart each MRAP.
Among The Costs Of War: Billions A Year In A.C.?
To put the Ukrainian debt problem into perspective, the US military spends approximately $20 billion a year just to air-condition tents in Afghanistan for the troops who guard ''our warlords'' poppy fields.
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K&R
