U.S. Vice President Mike Pence poses for photos with troops at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. And this commander-in-chief is clear-eyed about the threats you face and the challenges that lie ahead,” Pence said. Pence said that Ghani offered assurances that Afghanistan was preparing for parliamentary elections next year and a presidential election in 2019. The influx of U.S. trainers is emblematic of the military’s renewed focus on building up Afghan forces so they can fight the insurgents and take control of their country’s security. That approach aims to reverse setbacks experienced by Afghan forces in recent years, as the Obama administration steadily reduced U.S. troop levels from a peak of roughly 100,000 in mid-2010.

Source: Washington Post December 22, 2017 10:18 UTC