Getty Clinton backs Obama's reversal on Afghanistan

Hillary Clinton on Friday swung squarely behind President Barack Obama's decision to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan, calling his decision "one that I agree with."

“I think what you're seeing with President Obama is a perfect example of a leader who has strong convictions about what he would like to see happen but also pays attention to what's going on in the real world,” the Democratic front-runner said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “And his decision is one that I agree with.”


Earlier this week, Obama announced that he is reversing his pledge to pull out all troops from Afghanistan by the end of his second term. Tapper noted that if elected to the White House, Clinton would inherit a 5,500-troop presence in the war-torn Central Asian country, and asked whether she would pledge to have them out by the end of her first or second term.

Clinton declined to make any promises.

“I will not sit here today and say what I would do upon taking office because, again, we want to bring our troops home,” she said. “We certainly don't want them engaged in on-the-ground combat. We want them to help support and train the Afghan army. And we want them to, you know, continue to work with the government of Afghanistan to try to help strengthen security for them. So, I can't predict where things will be in January of 2017.”

Clinton's chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has not yet commented on Obama's decision.