Obama to again delay Afghanistan drawdown
Source: CNN
President Barack Obama will announce Thursday that U.S. forces will remain in Afghanistan at their current levels throughout much of 2016, marking yet another delay in the administration's plans for completing its withdrawal from the 14-year conflict.
He is scheduled to give a public statement addressing the decision at 11 a.m. from the Roosevelt Room in the White House.
The decision to maintain 9,800 troops in Afghanistan until nearly the end of Obama's time in office comes after months of discussions with Afghanistan's president, Ashraf Ghani, and the nation's CEO, Abdullah Abdullah, senior administration officials said Wednesday night. Obama also consulted with U.S. military commanders on the ground in Afghanistan as well as his entire national security team, officials added.
According to the new White House plan, the number of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan would drop to 5,500 by early 2017, as Obama prepares to leave office. At that point, U.S. forces would be based in the Afghan capital of Kabul, as well as in military installations in Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/15/politics/afghanistan-troops-obama/index.html
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