U.S. President Barack Obama told Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday that America will be prepared for a complete military withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Obama proposed complete disengagement from Afghanistan because Karzai hasn't signed a bilateral security agreement that would define the relationship between the two nations after 2014.
See also: Defense Secretary Proposes Big Cuts to U.S. Military Spending
The president asked the Pentagon to draw up two plans: one for a full withdrawal, and another that requires a force of 10,000 to stay in Afghanistan. The option Obama chooses will depend on Karzai or the next Afghan president who will be elected this spring, according to a summary of the leaders' phone call that was posted on the White House's website. Karzai says he feels that the next president of Afghanistan should decide whether or not to sign the BSA, and despite preparing the U.S. military for total withdrawal, Obama left the possibility of staying, open.
"Should we have a BSA and a willing and committed partner in the Afghan government, a limited post-2014 mission focused on training, advising, and assisting Afghan forces, and going after the remnants of core Al Qaeda could be in the interests of the United States and Afghanistan," the White House readout says. "Therefore, we will leave open the possibility of concluding a BSA with Afghanistan later this year."
Obama also emphasized that the U.S. needs adequate time to prepare for whichever option is selected.
"The longer we go without a BSA, the more challenging it will be to plan and execute any U.S. mission," the readout says. "Furthermore, the longer we go without a BSA, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 U.S. mission will be smaller in scale and ambition."
Obama's talk with Karzai, the first since last summer, buys time for the U.S. to work out an agreement with the Afghan government, but it also means the Pentagon will have less time to enact whichever option the governments choose.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.