WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing sharp criticism from a Senate panel, a senior Obama administration official expressed optimism Thursday that the U.S. will reach an agreement with the Afghan government allowing American troops to remain in the country beyond 2014.

James Dobbins, the special U.S. representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said President Barack Obama is still mulling a range of options for the actual size of the U.S. military presence at the end of next year, but told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that as the Afghans build up their country, they won’t stand alone.