int-for-us-military/20455293/
FORT DIX, N.J. - Marking what he called a "turning point" for the U.S.
military, President Obama on Monday saluted troops returning from
Afghanistan and declared the United States is moving past the time for large
deployments aimed at nation building.
Obama noted that nearly 180,000 troops were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan
when he took office, and that number will be down to less than 15,000 at the
end of the month.
"The time of deploying large ground forces with big military footprints to
engage in nation building overseas, that's coming to an end," the commander
in chief said in a speech to 3,000 at New Jersey's Joint Base
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, a launching point for deployments to Afghanistan.
U.S. and NATO troops closed their operational command in Afghanistan last
week after 13 years of war. Some troops will remain, however, to carry out
operations against Taliban and al-Qaida targets.
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