NATO leaders are reportedly considering a plan to continue funding an Afghan security force of 352,000 troops for another four years, reversing a previous plan to reduce Afghan troop levels at the end of 2014. The cost of funding the current number of Afghan security forces is roughly $6.5 billion per year; the bulk of it — $5.7 billion — is provided by the United States. A plan backed by NATO last year would have reduced the number of Afghan security forces by roughly a third, cutting the annual cost down by about $2 billion, at the end of next year. But NATO officials now appear to be wavering on that plan, saying funding at the current troop levels could continue after foreign combat troops leave. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said no decision has been made, but stressed the plan would be economically feasible.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen: “I feel confident that we will be able to finance Afghan security forces of that size. Right from the outset, we have set the goal to reach a level of 352,000 Afghan security forces, soldiers and police. And the international community has pledged to help financing that, because a security force of that size goes well beyond the financial capacity of the Afghan government.”