WASHINGTON — When President Barack Obama leaves the White House in 2017, his successor will take command of the ongoing mission of bombing civilian hospitals in Afghanistan, sources confirmed today.

"While America's combat mission in Afghanistan may be over, our commitment to Afghanistan and its people endures," said Obama, in a brief statement from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. "I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven for civilians to shelter from our nation again."

In a reversal of his previous decision to withdraw thousands of unused American gunships, jets, and bombs from Afghanistan, Obama announced Thursday that he would maintain a presence in the country through 2017, indefinitely prolonging the U.S. mission of counterterrorism at hospitals, wedding parties, and other dangerous hotbeds of civilian activity.