Straying from the designated plan of reducing the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 5,500 this year, President Barack Obama has decided to halt the removal of troops by keeping its current level of 9,800 stationed throughout the end of the year.

While Obama acknowledges that the nation’s “transition out of a combat role has not changed”, the decision to keep a U.S. presence in Afghanistan resulted from a request made by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The joint decision made by Obama and Ghani was reached in the hopes that a drawn-out removal of troops will help with Afghan’s security as they continue to fight back the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Full removal of troops is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/24/politics/obama-afghan-president-ghani-meeting/index.html