Policy

US Doesn't Rule Out Possibly Pulling All Troops from Afghanistan

As in, having no residual forces left behind

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The Obama administration does not rule out the possibility that no U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said on Monday, just days before President Barack Obama is due to meet Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

"That would be an option that we would consider," U.S. deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in a preview of Karzai's Friday visit when asked whether the administration was weighing a "zero option" in its deliberations on how large a residual force to leave behind after the end of the U.S. combat mission next year.