US says 'zero-option' in Afghanistan post-2014 not in Washington- Islamabad interest

Withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan after 2014 and leaving none behind was not in the interests of either country, the US ambassador to Kabul has said.

Ambassador James Cunningham said that the zero choice, of leaving no troops behind, would not be a choice that the US would want.

He said that withdrawing the force would not be in interest of the Afghan people or of the United States.

According to the Daily Times, the idea of a zero option was mooted earlier this year by US deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes.

The New York Times had reported that tense relations with President Hamid Karzai might see Washington wanting to withdraw the troop quickly and possibly remove its entire military presence from the country.