Brian Ferguson, U.S. Air Force / Getty Images
The U.S. and Afghanistan are reportedly close to signing a strategic pact that could keep thousands of U.S. troops in that country until 2024, the Telegraph reported Friday. The proposed deal—which some say is opposed by Afghanistan’s neighbors Iran and Pakistan—would keep American Special Forces and Air Force troops in addition to the military officers who are training the Afghan Army and police. But one senior member of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s council said the Taliban could possibly reject the deal—and it could even hurt the whole peace process. While American forces have already begun to withdraw troops under an agreement that would hand over that country’s security to Karzai’s government in 2014, many Afghans worry they will be abandoned when the troops leave.