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By the Numbers: 23,000

May 3, 2012 at 12:12 PM ET by Megan Slack

Summary:

By the end of the summer, 23,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan, and by the end of 2014 Afghan forces will be fully responsible for the security of their country.

On Tuesday, President Obama made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement with President Hamid Karzai, which provides a framework for the relationship between our two nations moving forward as U.S. forces leave the country and Afghans continue the transition to take control of their own security.

In his address to the American people after signing the agreement, President Obama announced that 23,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of the summer, and by the end of 2014, Afghan forces will be fully responsible for the security of their country.

As the war there comes to an end, the agreement the two leaders signed lays out how the United States and Afghanistan will work together to strengthen Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity, and advance our shared goal of defeating al Qaeda and contributing to the security of the region.