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Obama Finds He Can’t Escape Afghan War He Once Vowed to End

  • U.S. to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan at end of 2016
  • Taliban momentum means security is ‘precarious,’ Obama says
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Obama to Leave 8,400 Troops in Afghanistan

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President Barack Obama, who once promised to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan within 16 months of taking office, acknowledged on Wednesday that his successor will instead have to resolve America’s longest armed conflict.

Obama announced that he would again slow the U.S. withdrawal from the country, where Afghan government forces are struggling to take and keep territory from the Taliban. About 8,400 U.S. military personnel will remain in the country at the end of the year to help with what Obama called a “precarious” security situation.