Getting troops out of Afghanistan a big problem

WASHINGTON — Fifteen years into the war that few Americans talk about anymore, conditions in Afghanistan are getting worse, preventing the clean ending that President Barack Obama hoped to impose before leaving office.

Violence is on the rise, the Taliban isstaging new offensives, the Islamic State terrorist group is angling for a foothold and peace prospects are dim.

Afghanistan remains a danger zone. It’s hobbled by a weak economy that’s sapping public confidence in the new government. Afghan police and soldiers are struggling to hold together the country 13 months after the U.S.-led military coalition culled its numbers by 90 percent.