U.S. and Afghanistan sign agreement allowing presence of foreign troops beyond 2014

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The top U.S. and coalition commander in Afghanistan stressed Saturday that the signing of a stalled bilateral security agreement between America and Afghanistan was a priority. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, who commands the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force, told the Associated Press it was important to sign the deal, which has been stalled since June by President Hamid Karzai.Afghanistan and the United States have been negotiating the agreement, which would allow the presence of foreign troops beyond the end of 2014. Although no numbers have been announced yet, it is believed they would be about 9,000 troops from the U.S. and 6,000 from its allies. There are currently about 100,000 troops from 48 countries in Afghanistan, including 66,000 Americans.