The newly appointed President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai will reportedly put pen to paper tomorrow in his first act as leader of the war-torn country to permit American troops to remain in the country past the end of the year - when their occupation agreement expires.
Officials have revealed that on Tuesday the new government of Afghanistan will officially sign the agreement, which will see about 9,800 American soldiers remain in the country.
US troops have been in Afghanistan for more than a decade and were very influential in toppling the Taliban. But the former leader of the country Hamid Karzai had refused to sign the deal that will extend the presence of US troops in the country citing attacks on civilians among other problematic issues.
Many experts have noted that a regime change in Afghanistan presented the ideal opportunity for the US government to reset its relations with this country.
In 2012, President Obama - to the surprise of many security experts - revealed that he had a plan for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. But White House officials later came out to clarify that the president's statement meant that the security of Afghanistan will be completely transferred to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.
In May, President Obama disclosed that the 9,800 soldiers, who will remain in Afghanistan for a year, will be tasked with advising and training Afghan forces against remnants of al Qaeda and other terrorist elements in the region. The president also noted that the US troops in the country will be cut in half by 2015, and again in 2016 - until there is only a small contingent of US forces at the country's embassy in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that President Ahmadzai will also sign an agreement for NATO forces to remain in Afghanistan.
