Dempsey to explain Afghan "zero option" at NATO | The E-Ring
When Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey faces 60 other defense chiefs from NATO and its partner nations next week in Brussels, he'll likely have to answer for one new development: the "zero option."
White House national security staffers, to much surprise, floated to the press this week that they had requested, and the Pentagon delivered, plans for leaving no U.S. troops behind in Afghanistan after 2014. It was a far cry from the pledges that President Barack Obama asked NATO allies to make at the Chicago summit last May, and on which foreign defense chiefs largely delivered with pledges of thousands of troops and billions of dollars for years to come in Afghanistan.
"They didn't know," the zero option was coming, a senior defense official tells the E-Ring. Now Dempsey expects that issue will the main concern for military leaders at the usually un-newsworthy event.
In Europe, Pentagon officials believe that political leaders may like the idea of getting out of Afghanistan, a wholly unpopular war. But military leaders are seen as more committed to continuing their mission at some level, so as not to lose what was gained. They've also undoubtedly expended political capital convincing their elected heads of state to stick with the United States.
Dempsey, on Thursday in the Pentagon, said he gave the option to the White House staff but has not yet presented it or discussed it with the president, so would not comment further.
When Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey faces 60 other defense chiefs from NATO and its partner nations next week in Brussels, he'll likely have to answer for one new development: the "zero option."
White House national security staffers, to much surprise, floated to the press this week that they had requested, and the Pentagon delivered, plans for leaving no U.S. troops behind in Afghanistan after 2014. It was a far cry from the pledges that President Barack Obama asked NATO allies to make at the Chicago summit last May, and on which foreign defense chiefs largely delivered with pledges of thousands of troops and billions of dollars for years to come in Afghanistan.
"They didn't know," the zero option was coming, a senior defense official tells the E-Ring. Now Dempsey expects that issue will the main concern for military leaders at the usually un-newsworthy event.
In Europe, Pentagon officials believe that political leaders may like the idea of getting out of Afghanistan, a wholly unpopular war. But military leaders are seen as more committed to continuing their mission at some level, so as not to lose what was gained. They've also undoubtedly expended political capital convincing their elected heads of state to stick with the United States.
Dempsey, on Thursday in the Pentagon, said he gave the option to the White House staff but has not yet presented it or discussed it with the president, so would not comment further.