Marco Rubio: Keep 10,000 troops in Afghanistan

Fourteen years ago this week, the United States initiated Operation Enduring Freedom to topple the Taliban from power and deny safe haven to al-Qaeda in the wake of the horrific attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The war, which many mistakenly believed would end in a matter of weeks, has lasted far longer than anyone expected. Today, the Afghans are fighting against a brutal foe bent on imposing yet another tyranny on the Afghan people.

Afghanistan has marked many victories in the years since 2001 — a new constitution, five national elections, the inauguration last year of a pro-Western president, and a tripling in the size of the economy.

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Even as there has been progress in some areas, enduring challenges remain. Drug lords set up shop and made Afghanistan the world headquarters for the heroin trade. Pervasive corruption undermined Afghans’ hopes for their new government. The democratically elected government struggled to keep order in a country rife with warlords and organized crime.

The Taliban has stepped into the power vacuum. In 2005 it announced its return with a series of dramatic attacks. The movement, motivated by jihadist ideology, enabled by safe haven in Pakistan, and fueled by drug money, grew larger and more sophisticated and threatened to undo years of progress.

President Obama and former secretary Hillary Clinton came into office promising to win the “good war.” But they never gave our troops the leadership, the resources and the time they needed to finish the job. Obama, who campaigned on giving Afghanistan an additional $1 billion in reconstruction assistance per year, actually reduced civilian aid to Afghanistan every year since 2010. And he undermined the troops’ efforts by announcing a timetable for withdrawal in advance — a move recommended by no manual of military strategy, ever.

Most recently, Obama has dictated a drawdown from 100,000 troops to just 10,000 and has severely limited the amount of help that U.S. forces can give to their Afghan allies. Those actions made it possible for the Taliban to seize Kunduz, the first major city captured by that terrorist movement since 2001.

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After the sacrifice of thousands of Americans — more than 2000 who lost their lives and tens of thousands who were injuredPDF pg 4 — many Americans ask why they should care about Afghanistan any longer. Some question whether this is truly our fight. Afghanistan is a distant land and al-Qaeda seems, to some, a beaten foe.

The best answer is to recall the Taliban’s own history. The Taliban took in Osama bin Laden and many of his senior al-Qaeda associates in the 1990s. The Taliban denied al-Qaeda was involved in the terrorist attacks of 2001 and refused to hand its members over to the United States. The U.S. and Afghan governments have consistently offered reconciliation to the Taliban if it severs its ties to al-Qaeda and renounces terrorism. In 14 years, the Taliban has never done so.

Nor is al-Qaeda the only group that will be drawn to Afghanistan if the country — or portions of it — fall back under the Taliban’s sway. Islamic State has been increasingly making inroads in Afghanistan, even challenging the Taliban for influence in some areas. And any jihadist group with safe haven in Afghanistan could destabilize nuclear-armed Pakistan, train for attacks against India and prepare attacks on the U.S. homeland.

That is why the United States must remain engaged in Afghanistan. We must equip the Afghans to combat the jihadists on their doorstep so we don’t have to combat them on ours. We’ve trained 350,000 Afghan soldiers and policemen. The Afghans have fought bravely: Almost 22,000 have been killed fighting our common enemy since 2001, with more than 9,000 of those fatalities coming in 2014 and the first half of 2015.

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But the Afghans are not yet ready to stand on their own. Withdrawing all troops by the end of 2016 would be to repeat the mistake of Iraq where the pullout in 2011 made possible the rise of the Islamic State.

President Obama should rethink his ill-considered withdrawal plans and instead commit to keep 10,000 troops in Afghanistan until he leaves office. That will allow the next president the chance to set a responsible long-term policy.

As president, I will consult with our military commanders about the force levels that we need to maintain security in Afghanistan. My decision will be based entirely on the dictates of our national security. I will not set artificial withdrawal deadlines to score political points at home. I will ensure the Afghan army has the resources, equipment, trainers, advisors and air support to sustain its campaign against our enemies.

America cannot rebuild the Afghans’ entire country for them — but our security now, just as it was 14 years ago, depends on ensuring that their land is never again a safe haven for jihadists who wish us harm.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is a Republican candidate for president in 2016.

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