Obama: 8,400 US Troops To Remain In Afghanistan Into Next Year
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- President Barack Obama is slowing the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, leaving 8,400 troops there into next year.
The numbers reflect a compromise between Obama's original plan and what many military commanders had recommended.
"The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," he said Wednesday from the Roosevelt Room with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Joseph Dunford.
He also said Afghan security forces are not as strong as they need to be.
"This is where al Qaeda is trying to regroup, this is where ISIL continues to try to expand its presence," the president said. "If these terrorists succeed in regaining areas and camps where they can train and plot, they will attempt more attacks against us. We cannot allow that to happen. I will not allow that to happen."
Obama had planned to drop troop levels from 9,800 to 5,500 troops by the end of 2016. But Taliban resurgence has forced Washington to rethink its exit strategy.
Obama's announcement comes a day before he heads to a NATO summit in Poland, where Afghanistan is high on the agenda.
His decision fixes the number of troops who will remain in Afghanistan through the end of his presidency.
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