Editorial: Combat extension is least bad option for Afghanistan

It’s unfortunate that the American public was kept in the dark, but President Barack Obama was correct to extend the combat mission of U.S. troops in Afghanistan for at least another year. Obama’s decision, kept secret until revealed by The New York Times on Saturday, amounts to an acknowledgment that Afghanistan’s armed forces aren’t ready to fend for themselves on the front lines.

Obama had announced in May that, by the end of 2014, the remaining 9,800 troops in Afghanistan would assume roles as trainers supporting Afghan troops as they confront Islamist radicals. The Taliban, which ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, has staged a remarkable comeback in recent years and shows no sign of fading into the background as U.S. forces pull back.

Afghan troops have a long way to go before they can fill the void, so it’s logical that the U.S. combat mission should be extended. The stakes have rarely been higher. The rapid sweep of Islamic State jihadis through Iraq underscores why the urge for a quick U.S. withdrawal must be tempered with the recognition that local forces are likely to continue needing combat support. Afghanistan’s forces are not even at the level of preparedness Iraqi troops were when the U.S. withdrew in 2011.

We know Americans are war-weary, with good reason. But the prospect of a return to brutal Taliban rule is sufficient to justify extending a U.S. combat role there.

Consider events just in recent days. At least 61 villagers were killed Sunday in eastern Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a crowd watching a volleyball game. It was a shocking reminder of the strictures the Taliban once imposed on Afghans, banning sporting events, kite flying, music playing, dancing and other vestiges of fun. The national soccer stadium in the capital, Kabul, served as a public execution venue.

In Charkalah, barely an hour’s drive outside Kabul, Taliban dominance is unquestioned, according to The Times. Government troops must operate in the shadows and seek Taliban permission to patrol the local bazaar — unarmed — for one hour a day. Otherwise, the troops must remain in their base.

This offers a taste of things to come if Obama were to continue enforcing an end to America’s combat role, effectively turning a blind eye to the Afghan army’s lack of preparedness. The idea must not be to train a prescribed number of Afghans, hastily declare them battle-ready and then throw them to the wolves.

Delaying an end to America’s combat mission is the right choice when the goal is to ensure that the Taliban don’t sweep back into domination, replicating the nightmare unfolding in Iraq.