BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has met Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul. Panetta’s visit is partly to firm up options to present to President Barack Obama about how many troops to keep in the country once the NATO combat mission ends.

Panetta said, "We are going to maintain an enduring presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014. We will be drawing down our forces, obviously the Afghan army, will assume full responsibility for the security of the country, but we will be there to provide support, to provide training, to provide assistance, to provide help on counter-terrorism and to provide the support for the forces that are here. So we will be maintaining an enduring presence."

At a joint press conference, Panetta announced that Karzai will head to Washington in the week of January 7th. Karzai and Obama are expected to "discuss a shared vision of Afghanistan beyond 2014". Topics include discussions about residual US troop levels. Obama campaigned for re-election partly on a promise to wind down the war in Afghanistan.

Options under consideration included keeping as few as 6,000 troops there, compared to the current 68-thousand. The US military commanders who are traveling with Panetta have praised the growing capabilities of the Afghan army.

They’ve suggested Afghan forces would be able to secure the country once most foreign troops depart.

(Source: CNTV.cn)