President Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan over Memorial Day weekend. Speaking to troops at Bagram Air Base, Obama discussed plans to keep some U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 pullout date.

President Obama: “And once Afghanistan has sworn in its new president, I’m hopeful we’ll sign a bilateral security agreement that lets us move forward. And with that bilateral security agreement, assuming it is signed, we can plan for a limited military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014, because after all the sacrifices we’ve made, we want to preserve the gains that you have helped to win.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has so far refused to sign a deal to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but both candidates on the ballot in next month’s runoff have expressed support for the deal.