The report quoted U.S. officials as saying the administration had been willing to leave a few thousand troops in Kabul by the end of 2014 but those plans may be abandoned amid Afghan President Hamid Karzaiâs recent moves to discourage U.S.-brokered Taliban peace talks.
Reuters cited a New York Times report as saying the two sides discussed avenues to mend the rift during a June 29 video conference but it âended poorly.â
Since then, a full military pullout, previously a “worst-case scenario” option, is now “under serious consideration,â the Times had said.
The Times has pegged the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan at 63,000, according to the report.