KABUL — The Taliban on Saturday warned of a prolonged war in Afghanistan if any foreign troops stay after the end of 2014, as Kabul and Washington prepare to discuss the “residual” US security presence. President Barack Obama and President Hamid Karzai will hold talks in the US next week on a long-term security pact between the two countries, with US troops remaining in Afghanistan at the top of the agenda. “If America wants to leave a small or large number of its troops for whatever length of time then it means war and destruction will continue in the region for that same length,” the Taliban said in a statement. “If Karzai and the Kabul regime agree with the presence of even a single American soldier then, just as presently, they shall also be responsible for all future hostilities, casualties and destruction.” The latest media reports suggest the US Department of Defense has prepared plans that leave either 3,000, 6,000 or 9,000 troops in the country, focused on striking at Al-Qaeda militants. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the slimmed-down force would focus on preventing Al-Qaeda, which was sheltered by the 1996-2001 Taliban government, from regaining a foothold in the war-shattered nation. Troops would also continue training the Afghan army and police, who will be responsible for national security more than a decade after a US-led alliance ousted the Taliban regime. General John Allen, commander of US and NATO forces, had earlier suggested leaving up to 15,000 troops, and the new forecasts would mean scrapping a plan for diplomatic posts across Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal said. The NATO coalition, which has been fighting an insurgency by Taliban Islamists since 2001, reduced troop numbers by about 30,000 in 2012 and is due to end its mission by the end of 2014. US pushes to finish Afghan dam In the approaching twilight of its war in Afghanistan, the US is forging ahead with a giant infrastructure project long criticized as too costly in both blood and money. It's a $500 million effort to refurbish the massive Kajaki dam and hydro-electric power system with an extensive network of power lines and transmission substations. It is supposed to bring electricity to 332,000 people in southern Afghanistan, increase crop yields and build up a cohort of trained Afghan laborers in a region badly in need of them. But completion, which originally was envisaged for 2005, now is projected for some time in 2015, the year after most combat troops wi ll have left the country. And there are some crucial ifs: — Agencies
