Afghan security forces would be boosted under deal

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry spent the day at Camp David, north of Washington, discussing the terms of five security and economic agreements that a senior administration official described as key to “getting the relationship on track.”

Officials said the decision on whether to extend the number of troops remaining in Afghanistan through the end of 2016 would be announced Tuesday at the White House in a joint U.S.-Afghanistan press conference. There was no word on whether a troop presence would be committed beyond 2016.

Of the agreements reached Monday, the largest included a commitment from the U.S. to seek more funding for Afghanistan’s security forces through 2017.

Under the terms, President Obama will ask Congress in fiscal 2017 for about $4 billion to build the Afghanistan Security Forces to about 352,000 strong, up from its current levels of 330,000.

Officials said the continued high levels of funding should not be read as a sign that more troops will remain in Afghanistan post-2016, when the president has promised to draw down U.S. forces to about 1,000 troops to provide embassy security and a residual force to maintain an Office of Security Cooperation.

The two governments also agreed to restart two forums used for strategic level security decisions, the Bilateral Commission and the Security Consultative Forum. Neither forum has taken place since at least 2013, and Kerry is expected to begin traveling for both during the year.

Two of the agreements were trade and finance related — Treasury Secretary Jack Lew signed an agreement with the Afghan minister of finance to provide technical assistance to assist the Afghan government to pursue fiscal and financial reforms.

The U.S. also has agreed to provide about $800 million to create a partnership to help Afghanistan develop trade channels.