Think Tank: US Spies to Remain in Afghanistan After 2014

A US think tank said that the US intelligence networks will maintain their presence in Afghanistan even after the American troops leave that country by the end of 2014.

The Foreign Policy Journal in an article titled ‘A Zero Option’ for Afghanistan by retired US Army General David W Barno wrote that the US intelligence agency’s partnership will surely continue after 2014.

Brano noted that billions of dollars of covert investment by Washington and hundreds of US operatives actively taking part in the operations in Afghanistan shows that Obama administration has a long-term plan for intelligence activities in the crisis-hit country.

Eleven years of extensive quiet intelligence efforts partnered with Afghans (and Pakistanis) have created a deep web of friendly contacts that will be maintained (by the US) long after 2014, he said.

Although the US President Barack Obama has said that the US troops will leave Afghanistan before the end of 2014, the US is still fearful of al-Qaeda to pose risk to its interests in the Middle East, the think tank wrote.

For Americans, the Afghanistan war is entering its final phase. Obama knows that this war will end on his watch. His legacy as president will inevitably be shaped by its outcome.

Hence, President Obama is considering keeping the US intelligence operatives active in Afghanistan.

President Obama will have to weigh the substantial risks inherent in a “Zero Option” for Afghanistan.