WASHINGTON — The United States will remain in an armed conflict in Afghanistan — essentially at war — after the end of this year under rules for combat operations that the Pentagon requested, and President Barack Obama approved, early this month.
Senior administration officials said Obama agreed that U.S. military leaders in Afghanistan are authorized to approve combat operations — using ground forces, manned aircraft and drones — under three sets of circumstances.
They include counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda and other “transnational” terrorist groups, protection of U.S. forces engaged in training or other activities, and assistance to Afghan forces. Under those circumstances, U.S. forces probably will be engaged in direct combat with the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to them or other members of the remaining international military coalition.
“Our expectation is that the Taliban and al-Qaeda will continue to directly threaten U.S. and other forces in Afghanistan,” said a senior administration official who was permitted to discuss the issue only on condition of anonymity.
The new authorizations appeared to be a shift away from Obama’s statement, made in May, that “America’s combat mission will be over by the end of this year. Starting next year, Afghans will be fully responsible for securing their country.”
Obama ordered a reduction in the number of U.S. service members to 9,800 by Jan. 1 and said their mission would be limited to training and advising Afghan forces, and to counterterrorism against al-Qaeda. By the end of 2016, that number is to be reduced to about 1,000 U.S. military personnel attached to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
In explaining the newly approved rules, which have been sent to the Pentagon to be turned into formal orders, the senior official drew a distinction between America’s “combat mission” in Afghanistan and necessary guidelines for “combat operations” that will continue in specific situations.
Several months of discussions about the authorities, which were first reported by The New York Times, culminated with a meeting in late October in which Obama and his senior national security team listened to and questioned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. John Campbell, who commands U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Some civilian officials objected to the scope of the Pentagon requests, but Obama’s decision, made less than a week later, “essentially allows for an expanded set of counterterrorism authorities than what had previously envisioned — essentially giving the military status quo,” said another U.S. official.
A senior military official said the authorities were “not a license for offensive combat operations against the Taliban just because we still have U.S. capabilities in the country.”
Officials said that a combat-capability was already built into planning for the 9,800 service members and that the new authorities would not require additional resources.
International law uses the term “armed conflict” to refer to war. A determination that the war was over would require a different legal justification for combat operations than the one the administration has used since 2009 (as did its predecessor under former President George W. Bush).
With the new authorities, the senior administration official said, “as a matter of international law, we will remain in an armed conflict with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”
The official said the administration would continue to use the Authorization for the Use of Military Force passed by Congress in 2001 to provide domestic legal justification for combat operations next year in Afghanistan. Obama said last year he wanted to “narrow” or repeal that authorization, since “the Afghan war is coming to an end.”
In Kabul, officials with the Afghan Defense Ministry declined to comment Saturday, while officials with the presidency could not be reached.
However, Afghan military analyst Jawed Kohistani said the move probably will be welcomed. President Ashraf Ghani’s administration, upon taking office, signed a deal with the U.S. to allow a residual force of 12,000 foreign troops in the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
