U.S. mulling “zero troops option” in Afghanistan

PanARMENIAN.Net - The White House has said for the first time it is possible that no U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan past 2014, as President Hamid Karzai arrived in Washington for talks with Barack Obama, BBC News reported.

Ben Rhodes, a top U.S. security official, told reporters the administration was still considering a range of options.

Mr Karzai's three-day trip will include crucial talks with Mr Obama and other officials, but no final decision. The Afghan president wants U.S. troops out of Afghan towns and villages. The meeting comes as relations between the two countries have been more fractious than usual.

When asked whether the U.S. was considering a "zero option" for a residual force after the end of the U.S. combat mission in 2014, Mr Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, told reporters: "That would be an option that we would consider."

"The President does not view these negotiations as having a goal of keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan," Mr Rhodes said, adding the U.S.' position would be guided by the "two goals of denying a safe haven to al-Qaeda and training and equipping Afghan National Security Forces".

Most foreign combat troops, including Americans, will leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. There are currently about 68,000 U.S. soldiers in the country.

Mr Rhodes told reporters that an announcement on post-2014 troop levels was not expected during Mr Karzai's visit. But he added that a bilateral security agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan is expected by November of this year.