On September 30, 2014, American and Afghan officials signed a bilateral security agreement, which will allow about 12,000 foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after the end of the year.  According to a news article, the agreement “will allow 9,800 American and at least 2,000 NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan after the international combat mission formally ends on Dec. 31. Most of them will help train and assist the struggling Afghan security forces, although some American Special Operations forces will remain to conduct counterterrorism missions.”  Under the agreement, “both countries have the right to withdraw from the pact in two years.”