President Barack Obama announced July 6, 2016, even more troops will remain in Afghanistan by the end of his term, a heightened departure from his failed promise to end the war in the country by 2014.

Obama said 8,400 troops will remain when he leaves office, an increase from when he announced 5,500 troops will remain in October. And that came just seven months after he anticipated only an embassy presence by 2016's end.

In his remarks from the White House, Obama credited Afghan forces for maintaining control of large cities and infrastructure, and he touted the killing of Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in a May 2016 airstrike.

"Nevertheless, the security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said. "Even as they improve, Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be."

The war in Afghanistan started in 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks. Even though the official combat mission ended in 2014, troops remained to train Afghan forces and assist counterterrorism missions. Obama emphasized the same mission would apply to the remaining 8,400 troops.

Obama has struggled to balance his pledge of ending the war and preventing a resurgence of conflict absent an American military presence.

"And that's why, at times, I've made adjustments," he said. "For example, by slowing the drawdown of our forces and, more recently, by giving U.S. forces more flexibility to support Afghan forces on the ground and in the air."

When Obama announced 5,500 troops last October, the Taliban had taken over its first major Afghan city, Kunduz. The Taliban now controls large portions of Afghanistan, according to the New York Times, and Obama acknowledged Taliban advances in his remarks. In June, several Afghan ambassadors and military commanders wrote an open letter to Obama advising 10,000 troops remain in the country.

Obama has decreased the number of soldiers in Afghanistan significantly from its 100,000 peak, although experts have said in the past that this actually worsened the conflict.

We didn't take a stance on whether Obama ought to revise the United States' commitments in Afghanistan. We did rate, however, his 2012 re-election promise to end the war in Afghanistan.

Obama's announcement confirms this will not happen under his watch. So we continue to rate this a Promise Broken.