President Barack Obama’s new Pentagon chief said on Saturday the United States was seriously considering slowing the pace of a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan after talks with Afghan leaders in Kabul. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s comments offered the clearest sign yet that Washington was ready to delay the closure of some bases and retain more troops on the ground after appeals by Afghanistan’s new President Ashraf Ghani.
“That could mean taking another look at the timing and sequencing of base closures to ensure we have the right array of coalition capabilities,” he said at a joint news conference with Ghani. Apart from troop numbers, the United States and its allies would need to make “long-term commitments in resources, equipment and other support” to ensure the success of the Afghan forces, he said.