Obama, Karzai outline future US role in Afghanistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US President Barack Obama appear to have reached the outline of a deal to keep US forces in Afghanistan after 2014.

US and coalition troops are now scheduled in mid-2013 to transition the security lead in Afghanistan to local forces, detention facilities are to soon be handed over to the Afghan government, and approval could be forthcoming for US troops' immunity from local prosecution, the two presidents announced during an 11 January White House press conference.

Obama said US troops would, after transitioning the security lead, move to a support role of "training, advising, [and] assisting Afghan forces", as well as conducting "targeted counter-terrorism".

He added that his discussions with Karzai would now focus on "how best to achieve these two tasks after 2014, and it's our hope that we can reach an agreement this year". A status of forces agreement between the United States and Afghanistan expires in 2014, and would have to be renewed for any US troops to stay beyond that date.