White House Says Afghan Drawdown Plan Has Been ‘Clear and Firm’
Published at
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The White House reiterated on Monday that a planned military drawdown in Afghanistan has been “clear and firm,” despite talk of troop levels being extended.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his administration are on their first official visit to the United States this week, starting with a security meeting at Camp David on Monday with Secretary of State John Kerry.
It’s expected that Ghani will be asking the U.S. to maintain the current military levels of around 10,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan beyond 2016, instead of sticking to President Obama’s plan to draw down troops to about 1,500.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday that troop numbers will be a sticking point.
“Making a substantial commitment of U.S. troops to Afghanistan again is not in our national security interest,” Earnest said. “Drawing the United States into another land war in Asia is not in our best interest.”
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.