WASHINGTON: Afghanistan needs Washington’s substantial long-term military support to battle the Taliban insurgency, the Pentagon said in its report to Congress.
The Pentagon said that Afghans will need considerable training and foreign aid beyond 2014 withdrawal deadline for foreign soldiers in order to fight the Taliban militants.
“Assessing whether the gains to date will be sustainable will be difficult to do until the exact size and structure of the post-2014 US and NATO presence is determined,” the Pentagon said in its report.
“Effective government, the rule of law and sustainable economic development are all necessary for long-term stability in Afghanistan, but multiple factors continue to hinder them, including widespread corruption,” the report said.
Moreover, the Pentagon report said that although fewer areas are controlled by the Taliban, the militants are still influential in a number of key rural regions of Afghanistan.
Peter Lavoy, the Pentagon’s top Afghan policy official, also said that a number of post-2014 options are being considered.
“In none of these cases have we developed an option that is zero,” the US official said in reference to post-2014 US plans for a military presence in Afghanistan.
The Obama administration is trying to broker a security deal with Kabul which would allow a legal basis for having US forces in Afghanistan after the announced withdrawal.
