US considers leaving no troops in Afghanistan

January 09, 2013 03:29

A senior White House official has said the US would consider leaving no American troops in Afghanistan after the end of combat in December 2014.

The official, however, stressed that the administration remains committed to preventing the country from becoming a haven for Al Qaeda. The comments on Tuesday came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai headed to Washington for talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

Asked whether Obama would consider a scenario in which all US troops left and there was no residual force in Afghanistan, Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser said: "That would be an option we would consider."

"We wouldn't rule out any option. We are not guided by the goal of a certain number of troops in the country. We are guided by the objective that the president has set," Rhodes told reporters.

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