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September 30, 2014

New Afghan Government Signs Deal to Keep 10,000 U.S. Troops 
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Afghanistan's new government has signed an agreement to keep 10,000 U.S.
troops in the country. The deal came a day after President Ashraf Ghani
was inaugurated. His predecessor, Hamid Karzai, had refused to sign the
deal. White House counselor John Podesta praised the new Afghan
government on Monday.

John Podesta: "The unity government represents the votes of all Afghans,
and I encourage all Afghans to cooperate with the new government, and
the United States looks forward to supporting the unity government and
the Afghan people. Toward that end, we very much look forward to
tomorrow's signing of the bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan,
an important step in strengthening the strategic partnership between our
two countries. The United States remains committed to a stable,
sovereign, unified Afghanistan responsible for its own security."

The new vice president of Afghanistan, Abdul Rashid Dostum, is one of
the country's most notorious warlords, who was once described by
now-President Ghani himself as a "known killer." We will have more on
the story later in the broadcast.

 

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