(Washington) – President Barack Obama has met at the White House with his top commander in Afghanistan and other high-ranking Pentagon officials. White House spokeswoman Laura Magnuson says the meeting was useful but no decision has been made about a possible U.S. presence in Afghanistan after the NATO-led combat mission formally concludes. She says Obama is continuing to weigh input from military, intelligence and diplomatic officials.
The military has been pushing to keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014. But the White House says Obama won’t leave any American forces in Afghanistan unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai signs a bilateral security agreement.
Among the officials Obama met with were Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan; Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey.
