The US commander in Afghanistan said in an interview published on Wednesday that American troops could stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014, the latest signal of a possible open-ended US military role in the country.
General John Allen told the New York Times that negotiations with Afghan officials on a strategic partnership would “almost certainly” feature “a discussion with Afghanistan of what a post-2014 force will look like”.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai had “in fact, just the other day talked about his desire to have conversations with the US about a post-2014 force,” Allen was quoted as saying. “We would probably see some number of advisers, trainers, intelligence specialists here for some period of time beyond 2014,” the commander said. Allen, who oversees the NATO-led force in the 10-year-old war, is the highest-ranking military officer to openly suggest the possibility of American forces remaining beyond 2014.
President Barack Obama’s administration has suggested combat troops would depart by the end of 2014 but left the door open to a residual force remaining on the ground. US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said earlier this month that Washington would be ready to keep forces in Afghanistan if the Kabul government requested it.
