New Defense Secretary Carter says U.S. may slow Afghan troop withdrawal

Making an unannounced visit to Kabul on Saturday, new Defense Secretary Ash Carter suggested that the United States' troop withdrawal from Afghanistan may be slowed to ensure that "progress sticks," Reuters reports.

"President Obama is considering a number of options to reinforce our support for President (Ashraf) Ghani's security strategy, including possible changes to the timeline for our drawdown of U.S. troops," Carter said on Saturday.

The current schedule would wind the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan down to just more than 5,000 by the end of 2015, with a target of lowering that on to a "normal" troop presence at the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up