US Never Planned to Pull Out Troops in Afghanistan by 2014, Says Top Commander | Common Dreams

27.3.13

US Never Planned to Pull Out Troops in Afghanistan by 2014, Says Top Commander | Common Dreams: -

The U.S. has never been serious about a so-called "zero option" in Afghanistan, a plan that would take all American troops out of the country by a 2014 deadline, according to the recently retired U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen.
Marines at Afghan soldiers training session (Photo: Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt / Isafmedia via Flickr / Creative Commons License) Allen stated at a meeting at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday that reports of a "zero option" plan were untrue, that he was never asked to produce a report on the so-called "zero option", and that he expects the U.S. and its allies to remain in Afghanistan for a long time, the Guardian reports.
"Sometimes this comes as a surprise when I say this: that on January 1, 2015, there's still going to be fighting in Afghanistan," Allen said.
"Speculation on the size of the force ranges from about 6,000 through to 20,000," the Guardian reports. "Allen offered Obama various options about force size before retiring last month. He ruled out a full pullout, an option the White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes had said in January was on the table."
"I was never asked to conduct any analysis with respect to the zero option," stated Allen.