WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The defense secretary was speaking shortly after President Barack Obama announced that a force of at least 5,500 US troops would stay on in Afghanistan for an indefinite period after 2016. Obama had previously promised to pull all US forces out of the country by that time.
"I've already initiated consultations with key allies," Carter said.
Carter already held discussions on seeking longer-term troop commitments from allies in NATO when he visited the alliance’s Brussels headquarters for talks last week, Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook told reporters at the same briefing.
"Secretary Carter had extensive conversations with NATO partners in Europe last week on what they are contributing to Afghanistan," Cook said.
He noted Carter was confident other allies would be stepping forward with their own contributions, but did not identify the specific countries.
"In Brussels, there was a significant conversation about Afghanistan," Cook added.
However, Cook acknowledged that Carter did not receive any firm commitment for specific forces or capabilities to operate in Afghanistan beyond 2016 during the talks in Brussels, and the United States was still waiting for what contributions will be provided.
"I'll let the allies speak for themselves," he concluded.
However, Britain and Germany, along with non-NATO member Australia, have been in the forefront of US allies providing forces to operate in Afghanistan.
