US troops in Afghanistan - what next?
President Trump has ruled out withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan
President Donald Trump has said a hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan would leave a vacuum for terrorists to fill. He said his original instinct was to pull US forces out but he now wanted to avoid the mistakes made in Iraq.
He said he wanted to shift from a time-based approach in Afghanistan to one based on conditions on the ground and said he would not set out deadlines.
Our correspondent Secunder Kermani reports from Kabul on whether the current strategy is working.
General John R. Allen who served in Afghanistan said that President Trump's stipulations were "excellent" and that follow on decisions should be based on an "end state instead of an end date".
(Image: President Trump, credit: Getty Images)
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