Afghan Parliament Approves Bilateral Security Agreement
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Credit: Keith Binns/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — A bilateral security agreement was approved on Sunday by the Afghan parliament, allowing U.S. troops to remain in the country after the end of the year.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai declined to sign the agreement, though the U.S. had hoped that new president Ashraf Ghani would agree to keep U.S. forces there. Ghani signed the agreement within 24 hours of taking office and the parliament approved on Sunday.
The agreement does state that U.S. forces “shall not conduct combat operations in Afghanistan,” however, unless both nations agree.
In recent months, the Afghan army has seen large numbers of casualties, perhaps signalling to Ghani that the nation needs foreign forces helping their military.
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