BRUSSELS — Secretary of State John F. Kerry joined his NATO counterparts here Tuesday for discussions on the 28-member alliance’s joint operations in Afghanistan and plans to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014.
“I reaffirmed our commitment to the Afghan people and to our determination that Afghanistan not ever become a haven for terrorists,” Kerry said in a news conference after the foreign ministers’ meeting. “To that end,” he continued, “we are committed beyond 2014” to a training and advisory mission whose parameters are being negotiated between the Afghan and U.S. governments.
“Obviously, President Obama has yet to make his personal decision about the numbers” of troops for that longer-term mission, Kerry said.
