Hollande: 1,400 French Troops Staying in Afghanistan After 2012

Troops Will Be Labeled Non-Combat, New President Insists

French President Francois Hollande’s campaign promise to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan at the end of 2012 is unchanged, at least to hear him tell it.

On a surprise visit to Afghanistan, Hollande announced that France is actually withdrawing just a little over half of their 3,400 troops from the nation, and will leave “around 1,400” troops in the country beyond the new year.

Taking a page out of President Obama’s playbook, Hollande will label the 1,400 troops “non-combat,” and insists that they will focus on training and logistics missions. It doesn’t appear that they are ruling out them taking a role in combat, however.

“We will still have a military force that will be dedicated to the training of Afghan army officers — that will also be present at the hospital, the airport and also will allow the Afghans to have a police force that is the most effective possible,” Hollande said, adding that “there will be further engagement.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.