(VOVworld) - US military leaders have proposed to maintain a force of 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after NATO pulls all its forces out in December.

US soldiers inspect the scene of a suicide attack outside a base in Zhari district, Kandahar province on January 20, 2014 (AFP Photo/Javed Tanveer)

An official said on condition of anonymity that the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, presented the option to the White House last week, which is weighing the proposal.
The US State Department, the Pentagon, and the American intelligence community evaluated that the number of 10,000 troop proposed by General Dunford is appropriate if the US wants to maintain its footprint in Afghanistan after 2014.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said that the President has not yet made decisions on final troop numbers and would continue the issue with military commanders, as well as the intelligence community, diplomats and experts.