IN BRIEF (Page 12)

AFGHANISTAN

Obama decides to leave 8,400 troops

President Barack Obama on Wednesday shelved plans to cut the US force in Afghanistan nearly in half by year's end, opting to keep 8,400 troops there through the close of his presidency in January and let his successor determine the path forward. Obama took office in 2009 pledging to wind down the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, he has been forced to return US troops to Iraq and keep thousands in place in Afghanistan after more than 14 years of war, altering his presidential legacy.