Decision on troop adjustment soon: Kerry

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): The US President, Barack Obama, would soon make his decision on troop adjustment, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, told lawmakers Tuesday ahead of the US visit of the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

Kerry told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing that “the President is on the right track (on his withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan). The evaluation that is going on now with respect to the adjustment on the troop is appropriate. And the president will make his decision shortly.”

“Do you support a conditions-based withdrawal in Afghanistan, of our military forces?” Kerry was asked by Senator Thad Cochran. Such a statement from the US Secretary of State comes in the wake of repeated requests from the new Afghan President Ghani, that the US should reconsider its decision on complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

During his maiden trip to Afghanistan, the new US Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter, said that he would consider on the pace of drawdown of troops from Afghanistan based on conditions on the ground.

A day earlier, the White House had indicated that the US President, could tailor his Afghan Policy in particular the drawdown of troops following recommendations from the commanders on the ground.

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