WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has told the Pentagon to prepare for the possibility that no U.S. troops will be left in Afghanistan over President Hamad Karzai's refusal to sign a joint security agreement.
The United States has said that after its formal drawdown of troops from Afghanistan by year's end, it could leave a contingent of as many as 8,000 for counter-terrorism operations against al Qaeda targets and to train Afghan forces. But Karzai's refusal to sign a security deal has frustrated the White House, which has been forced to abandon an earlier demand that he sign the deal in weeks, not months.
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