“When President Barack Obama leaves office in 15 months, he’ll hand his successor military conflicts in the two countries where he promised to end prolonged war: Afghanistan and Iraq. There will be far fewer troops in each, and the American forces won’t have a direct combat role. But for Obama, it’s nevertheless a frustrating end to a quest that was central to his political rise. As a result, the winner of the 2016 presidential election will become the third American commander in chief to oversee the Afghan war. Under the new $15 billion-a-year plan, the U.S. will maintain its current force of 9,800 through most of 2016, then begin drawing down to 5,500 late in the year or in early 2017.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20151015_ap_fa394db4a9f24815ab44c573e26be8dc.html