With some officials interested in ensuring a long-term US presence in
Afghanistan, and negotiations that would have the US military ultimately
leaving the country, some in the Trump Administration are looking at the CIA as a stop-gap.
The CIA has a long-standing presence in Afghanistan, but it is embedded
with US troops, and adding more CIA personnel with no place to embed
them could be a problem, with Pentagon officials quick to point out that
obvious issue.
This is giving way to a lot of further debates about post-war
Afghanistan, and some appear to be arguing against a peace deal if they
can’t have a huge CIA presence indefinitely after that.
Trump seems to be trying to keep those in his cabinet happy, promising
the US will “always” have a presence in Afghanistan. There is no obvious
middle ground to take, however, as the Taliban is sure to consider any
large military presence a non-starter.
White House, Military Officials At Odds Over CIA Presence in Afghanistan
Some want more CIA agents in Afghanistan, others say that's not realistic
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.
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