By JULIE PACE and ROBERT BURNS

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are meeting at the White House to discuss the future of the U.S. role in Afghanistan and the 66,000 American troops in harm's way.

 

Obama and Karzai plan a news conference Friday afternoon. White House officials say Obama will not announce any decisions on the next phase of troop withdrawals or whether any U.S. forces will stay behind in Afghanistan after the war formally ends in 2014.

 

U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have proposed keeping 6,000 to 15,000 U.S. troops after 2014 to continuing pursuing terrorists and training Afghan security forces.

 

The White House tends to favor lower troop levels than military generals. Officials say Obama would be open to pulling all U.S. forces out of Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

 

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