Watch: Presidents Obama and Karzai Talk
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is meeting with President Obama at the White House today — their first face-to-face talks since September — to discuss Afghanistan, specifically the troop levels on which they remain far apart and and exactly how many American troops, if any, should stay after 2014. After a morning full of closed bilateral meetings, many are hoping the two leaders will paint a more complete picture of America's withdrawal at a joint press conference this afternoon, which you can watch right here beginning at 1:15....
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On Tuesday, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that the White House was considering the idea of removing all of its troops from Afghanistan. Our Dashiell Bennett reported:
Rhodes says the Pentagon is considering a range of options, including keeping any where between 6,000 and 15,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground at all times. There are currently about 66,000 troops in the country now, down from a peak for more 100,000 at the height of the 11-year-old war.
On Saturday, The New York Times reported that "Obama administration is considering keeping a force of 3,000 to 9,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014."
