Panetta: Obama mulls options for U.S. presence in Afghanistan![]() December 12, 2012 - 12:41 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday, December12 that President Barack Obama will decide in the next few weeks how many U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan after the combat mission ends in December 2014, AP reported. Panetta did not reveal what options Obama is considering, but officials have said he may settle on a figure between 6,000 and 10,000. There currently are about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The post-2014 mission is expected to focus on counterterrorism and advising Afghan security forces. Panetta spoke Wednesday to about 100 U.S. service members inside an aircraft hangar at this desert base west of Kuwait City. He thanked them for their service and emphasized that the U.S. is winding down its involvement in lengthy wars. ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |