The U.S. and Afghanistan agreed to a security deal to allow 10,000 American troops to remain stationed in Afghanistan when the international combat mission ends Dec. 31. The two countries signed the accord in Kabul on Tuesday, days after Afghanistan officially inaugurated Ashraf Ghani as its new president. His predecessor, Hamid Karzai, had refused to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement following strained negotiations with Washington. The pact establishes a U.S. presence in Afghanistan and a system for training Afghan soldiers, so that “terrorists can never use Afghanistan to launch attacks against the U.S. or its allies,” said Obama administration adviser John Podesta.
