UK Prime Minister and the U.S. President agreed in a video conference call “to bring troops home next year”, according to The Telegraph.
Sources said the withdrawal will see almost half of Britain’s 9,000 troops brought back from Afghanistan next year.
Cameron’s determination to push ahead with a major withdrawal next year could raise tensions with British commanders, who have urged a more cautious approach. Cameron has set a deadline of the end of 2014 for Britain’s combat operations in Afghanistan to be concluded.
Potential timetables for next year’s withdrawal were discussed by senior ministers and generals at the National Security Committee Dec 18.
Sources said the favored option will see British numbers fall to close to 5,000 by next autumn when the Afghan “fighting season” ends.
Following the NSC meeting, Cameron then held his conference call with the president.
Final decisions on the British and American withdrawal will be made in the New Year, after Cameron has received more briefings from commanders on the detail of Afghan operations.
Officials said there will be no public announcement of a withdrawal timetable this week.
In a statement, Downing Street said that Cameron and Obama had agreed that their withdrawal plans were on course.
"On Afghanistan, they discussed progress on the plan to hand security responsibility from ISAF to the Afghan National Security Forces, and agreed that the NATO strategy to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 was on track. This would present further opportunities for ISAF countries to bring troops home next year and they agreed to stay in close touch as detailed plans develop,” No 10 said.
“They also agreed on joint work to strengthen the political process, particularly supporting Afghanistan and her neighbors to work together for stability, building on the trilateral discussions with Pakistan led by the United Kingdom.”
