President Obama announced today (July 6, 2016) revised troop plans for Afghanistan, keeping 8400 U.S. troops in the country when he steps down early next year -- the clearest indication yet of his inability to end the long war there -- according to the Washington Post website.
"I strongly believe that it is in our national security interest, especially after all the blood and treasure we've invested in Afghanistan over the years, that we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed," said Obama, speaking at the White House.
Obama -- who came into office promising to end the wars started by his predecessor -- has already changed his timetable for removing troops from Afghanistan several times as local forces struggle to contain a resilient Taliban insurgency.
There are now about 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, tasked with a dual mission to support local forces and hunt down al-Qaeda and other militants. That's much smaller than the force of about 100,000 stationed in Afghanistan during Obama's 2010-2011 troop surge.
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