The White House Is Barely Shrinking the U.S. Force in Afghanistan This Year The war isn’t over — not by a long shot

by KEVIN KNODELL

U.S. troops won’t be leaving Afghanistan as quickly as the White House once planned. On March 24, Pres. Barack Obama announced that American troops will slow their withdrawal from the troubled country.

Though the U.S. officially ended combat operations in 2014, American troops — and funds — still play a huge role in operations against insurgents and terrorists in Afghanistan.

That’s not likely to change anytime soon.

Just one day before Obama’s announcement, Afghan Pres. Ashraf Ghani visited the Pentagon as part of a state visit. He met with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter — a vocal advocate of greater military engagement in Afghanistan.