US widens war in Afghanistan, authorizes new action against Taliban

The Obama administration has granted American forces in Afghanistan new authorities to assist Afghan troops, a US official said on Thursday, The Washington Post reported.

The move signals a return to broader military might against the Taliban and pulls the United States back deeper into the country’s ongoing war.

The new measures include authorizing US troops, stationed in Afghanistan on a dual training and counterterrorism mission, to begin accompanying conventional local forces on the battlefield in a way that now occurs only with elite Afghan forces. That, in turn, could mean greater use of US air power to support those American and Afghan forces as they do battle.

Both of those actions will occur only when military leaders judge it will have “strategic effect,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss decisions that have not yet been made public.

"This is not a blanket order to target the Taliban," the official said. 

He added "The president’s decision allows our commanders on the ground to maximize the use and effectiveness of our troops supporting the Afghan forces in those select instances in which their engagement can enable strategic effects on the battlefield."

President Obama’s decision to authorize the new measures is a reflection of the deteriorating security across Afghanistan, where local forces are struggling to contain a resurgent Taliban, along with cells of al-Qaeda and Islamic State fighters, that have posed a formidable threat as foreign forces have withdrawn.

The changes come in response to recommendations from Army Gen. John W. "Mick" Nicholson Jr., who took command of US forces in Afghanistan in March, and has made requests through military leaders about measures designed to prevent security from worsening further.

Nicholson’s advice follows recommendations made by his predecessor, Gen. John Campbell who, before he stepped down this spring, urged the White House to allow more aggressive targeting of Taliban forces.

Source ; MENA