Guardian/UK
February 22, 2013

The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, and his Nato counterparts are considering leaving 8,000 to 12,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014, but a dispute arose on Friday between the US and Germany over whether the force would be international or purely American.

The conflicting accounts came as Nato defence ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss the endgame of the 11-year-old war. Barack Obama has said the last foreign combat troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

The German defence minister, Thomas de Maizière, told reporters Panetta had told him at the meeting that the US would leave 8,000-10,000 troops in the country at the end of 2014. But Panetta, speaking to reporters later, called De Maizière's comments inaccurate.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb...ops-afghanistan