W.H.: U.S. Military Personnel Are Not ‘Operating’ in Afghanistan in a ‘Combat Role’

SUPERVILLE: “But he did promise the end the wars? So, does he now have any regrets about making that promise?”
EARNEST: “What’s clear, Darlene, is that the United States military who are in Afghanistan, are not there in a combat role. So, there is an ongoing war, in an ongoing military conflict inside of Afghanistan. It is a dangerous place. But U.S. military personnel inside Afghanistan, while operating in a dangerous place, are not in a combat role there. And that is significant. And that says a lot about the capacity of Afghan national security forces. But also says something important about the trajectory of U.S. military involvement inside of Afghanistan. That we can protect our interests in that country by dramatically reducing our footprint. You’ll recall that the — you know, four or five years ago again, because of the strategy that the president put in place, that there were [indecipherable] of a 100, 000 U.S. service members inside of Afghanistan. And now we’re talking about a presence next year of — less than 10,000. That’s a significant reduction. But yet, because of the progress we made in other areas, as in terms of a stable central government, and a — at least more stable central government, and a better functioning security force, that that much smaller U.S. military footprint, in — while working in coordination with our allies, can effectively protect the broader national security interest of the United States, in a very dangerous part of the world.”