From October 7, 2001, until December 28, 2014, US and NATO forces carried out combat operations in Afghanistan.

While those operations were meant to end and the US had begun withdrawing troops from the country by the end of 2014, the Taliban continued success on the battlefield, coupled with the ineffective performance Afghan security forces, led the US to continue its deployment in the country, which has seen decades of wars fought by numerous combatants.

Overall, the US has a force of nearly 10,000 Afghanistan, though President Barack Obama intended to reduce that force to 5,500 in 2017, the continued Taliban threat has caused a change of plans, with some 8,400 troops slated to remain in Afghanistan at the end of next year.

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