Obama, in shift, says he will keep 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan until 2017

A U.S. soldier, wounded by sniper fire, is evacuated by his comrades in the village of Bargematal, Nuristan province, August 2009. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday shelved plans to cut the U.S. force in Afghanistan nearly in half by year's end, opting to keep 8,400 troops there through the close of his presidency in January and let his successor determine the path forward.

Acknowledging that security in Afghanistan remained precarious and Taliban forces had in some places gained ground, Obama put aside earlier plans to cut the U.S. troop presence from its current level of about 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of 2016. But his plan still calls for a 1,400-troop reduction, and congressional Republicans criticized him for that.