The United States plans to keep 9,800 troops after the end of combat mission by the end of this year and withdraw all troops by the end of 2016, a senior official said Tuesday.
President Barack Obama was to announce the plan later today in a statement. The post-2014 presence is subject to Afghan government’s decision on sign the Bilateral Secuity Agreement (BSA).
“Assuming a BSA is signed, at the beginning of 2015, we will have 9,800 US service members in different parts of the country, together with our NATO allies and other partners,” the official continued.
“By the end of 2015, we would reduce that presence by roughly half, consolidating US troops in Kabul and on Bagram Airfield. And one year later, by the end of 2016, we will draw down to a normal embassy presence with a security assistance office in Kabul, as we have done in Iraq.”
Obama made a surprise visit to the US forces in Afghanistan on Sunday. He is scheduled to speak about his foreign policy at West Point military academy on Wednesday.
Both presidential candidates have said to sign the BSA within a week in office.
Tolonews
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.