Obama Changes Afghan Strategy, Will Keep 5,500 Troops Past 2016: Officials

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Obama changes Afghan strategy; 5,500 troops staying past 2016 1:44
President Barack Obama plans to keep 5,500 U.S. troops across Afghanistan into 2017, senior administration officials told NBC News — well more than the small security force he promised last year.

 

The United States currently has about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan — sharply down from 100,000 that were in the country as recently as 2010. Obama said last year that he wanted to withdraw nearly all of them by the end of 2016, leaving only about 1,000 to provide security for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

 

The president is expected to make a formal announcement sometime Thursday morning that he plans to maintain 5,500 troops at bases in Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar into 2017 and the term of his successor, the U.S. officials said Wednesday night.

 

Read More: Obama Changes Afghan Strategy, Will Keep 5,500 Troops Past 2016: Officials – NBC News