US: Lack of security pact could cost Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. willingness to wait to sign a new security pact with the next Afghan president offers hope that a deal can still be made, but the ongoing delay could mean fewer American troops and fewer dollars for the impoverished country, the top U.S. envoy to Afghanistan said Friday.

American support of the war continues to wane with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement, which would provide a legal basis for some U.S. troops to stay in the country after the international combat mission ends this year. The agreement was to have been signed last fall.