Afghan President Meets With President Obama

Published March 24, 2015 at 12:06 PM EDT

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President Barack Obama meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during a restricted bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House March 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. This marks the first meeting between the two presidents at the White House following the Afghanistan presidential election. (Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama welcomes Afghanistan’s new president to the Oval Office today to talk about the future relationship between the two countries.

President Ashraf Ghani wants Obama to keep more U.S. troops in Afghanistan for longer. Obama has promised to pull remaining U.S. troops out by the end of his presidency.

But deficiencies in the Afghan security forces, heavy casualties among the army and police, a fragile new government and the threat by Islamic State fighters have persuaded Obama to slow the withdrawal.

NPR diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen joins Here & Now’s Robin Young to discuss what to expect when the two leaders meet.

Guest

Michele Kelemen, NPR diplomatic correspondent. She tweets @michelekelemen.