Obama will also slow the pace of the reduction of U.S. forces and plans to maintain the current U.S. force of 9,800 through "most of 2016," reported The Washington Post, citing a senior administration official who spoke anonymously to preview Obama's announcement.
Obama said last year that he wanted to withdraw nearly all of them by the end of 2016, leaving only about 1,000 to provide security for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
The president's decision came after an "extensive months-long review" that included regular discussions with Afghanistan's leaders, his national security team and U.S. commanders in the field, the official said.
The post-2016 force would still be focused on training and advising the Afghan army, with a special emphasis on its elite counter-terror forces. The United States would also maintain a significant counter-terrorism capability of drones and Special Operations forces to strike al-Qaeda and other militants who may be plotting attacks against the United States.
The New York Times said the move signals that Obama appears to be acknowledging that Afghan security forces are still not near ready to hold off the Taliban on their own.
The Taliban insurgency has spread through more of Afghanistan than at any point since 2001, The New York Times said, according to data compiled by the United Nations as well as interviews with local Afghan officials in areas under threat.
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