President Barack Obama plans to announce his decision to keep 9,800 soldiers in Afghanistan after 2014 in a speech Tuesday afternoon.
The American Combat mission was set to end by the end of this year, but Obama believes the best decision would be to keep troops there a little longer to end the war “responsibly”. The plan will go through if the next Afghan president signs off on the security agreement. Currently both candidates are in favor of the decision.
One of Obama’s senior officials stated the president’s goal for the next two years, which are two small missions: American forces are going to train Afghan forces and are going to help CT operations against al Qaeda. By 2015 the amount of soldiers in Afghanistan will be half the current number and by 2016 America will have a typical embassy presence, similar to that of Iraq, according to USA Today .
According to NBC News ,The number of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan is currently approximately 33,000. The war has lasted a total of 13 years, making it America’s longest war. However, now the Afghanistan officials and military are taking responsibility for their security Obama announced to U.S. soldiers this past weekend.
President Obama’s speech will take place later Tuesday afternoon. The Afghanistan presidential elections are scheduled for June.