President Obama announced Thursday that U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan will be unchanged in 2016, further delaying plans for withdrawal from the country. "Since taking the lead for security earlier this year, Afghan forces have continued to step up," Obama said, but added that they're still "not as strong as they need to be." The 9,800 troops will instead by lowered by about 4,000 in 2017. Obama affirmed that the troops are meant to root out remaining al Qaeda elements and train Afghan forces. "It's the right thing to do."
