Obama says U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be under 5,000 by end of 2015
- 10 years ago
President Barack Obama signaled the gradual close of the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan on Tuesday.
As few as 5,000 troops, he said, will remain in Afghanistan by the end of 2015.
SOUNDBITE: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:
"One year later, by the end of 2016, our military will draw down to a normal embassy presence in Kabul with a security assistance component just as we have done in Iraq."
For weeks, the administration has been quietly considering bringing U.S. troop presence well below the 10,000 mark, the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces.
The final numbers -- 9,800 troops after this year, and roughly half of that by the end of 2015 -- emerged during Obama's meetings with military commanders at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan over the weekend.
SOUNDBITE: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:
"The bottom line is it's time to turn the page on more than a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused
As few as 5,000 troops, he said, will remain in Afghanistan by the end of 2015.
SOUNDBITE: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:
"One year later, by the end of 2016, our military will draw down to a normal embassy presence in Kabul with a security assistance component just as we have done in Iraq."
For weeks, the administration has been quietly considering bringing U.S. troop presence well below the 10,000 mark, the minimum demanded by the U.S. military to train Afghan forces.
The final numbers -- 9,800 troops after this year, and roughly half of that by the end of 2015 -- emerged during Obama's meetings with military commanders at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan over the weekend.
SOUNDBITE: U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SAYING:
"The bottom line is it's time to turn the page on more than a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused