Afghanistan: Decision on Troop Withdraw Not 'Imminent': White House

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Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary, said on Tuesday that a decision on the exact pace and numbers of the U.S. troop withdraw from Afghanistan is not "imminent." However, he said that a "zero option" for the U.S. troop presence post-2014 is still on the table. Mr. Carney said the US decision on troop presence in Afghanistan after the long-planned drawdown will be based on ongoing discussions between Washington and Kabul about policy objectives. He identified those objectives as being primarily two-fold: eliminating the remnants of Al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, and supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in such a way that will ensure their ability to secure the integrity of the Afghan government. "We're in discussions with the Afghan government about options that also may include a residual force after 2014," Mr. Carney told reporters at a press conference in Washington on Tuesday. He emphasized that no decisions had been made, and would not be made anytime soon, but instead would develop out of a gradual dialogue between Kabul and Washington as events unfold around the peace process and security transition. Carney's comments come in the midst of a heated debate over the US' long-term military commitment to Afghanistan. On Monday, the New York Times reported rising tensions between President Karzai and President Obama, which according to some officials in the U.S. and Europe, have led to greater consideration being given to a faster troop withdraw in 2014 than originally planned, and even a "zero option" for a residual force post-2014. Animosity between President Karzai and President Obama came to a head after last month's Qatar office debacle in which an attempt to jumpstart negotiations with the Taliban ended with President Karzai refusing to meet with insurgent leaders, freezing Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) talks and accusing the U.S. of negotiating with the Taliban behind Kabul's back. US officials have said in the past that a small number of American troops would remain in Afghanistan post-2014 to advise, train and provide logistical support for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The BSA talks were intended to work out the details. However, with the fate of those talks now tied to that of the stalled peace process – President Karzai announced that he would not re-start talks with the U.S. until the Taliban meets with the High Peace Council (HPC) – any formal coordination between Washington and Kabul on what a post-2014 U.S. military presence may look like seems more distant than Mr. Carney chose to let on. So while a decision on the exact details of the U.S. troop withdraw may not be "imminent," whether because the best approach to realizing policy objectives has yet to reveal itself as the reality on the ground continues to evolve or because BSA talks are frozen in place, the fact remains that the dynamic between Kabul and Washington has taken an obvious turn for the worse just as the two governments come into the inevitable final stretch of their decade-long partnership.