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WASHINGTON — Not nearly enough trained Afghans are available to take control of key Taliban strongholds like Marjah after the military has pushed out the enemy, U.S. officials told a Senate panel on Thursday.
The lack of competent local officials in southern Afghanistan could frustrate Washington’s aims in the region, and keep the U.S. on the hook — financially and militarily — for several years to come. President Barack Obama has pledged that American forces will begin their exit next year.
“The number of those civilians . . . who are trained, capable, willing to go into (Taliban-controlled areas) does not match at all demand,” David Sedney, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
