|
 Carter, who was sworn in on Tuesday, has suggested he would be
open to slowing U.S. withdrawal plans, if necessary. But he did not
signal whether he was leaning in that direction in comments to
reporters shortly before landing in Kabul.
"We’re looking for success in Afghanistan that is lasting, and the
lasting accomplishment of our mission here," Carter said in his
first news conference since taking the job.
"How to do that, what the best way to do that is, is precisely what
I’m here to assess."
President Barack Obama's plans call for cutting U.S. troops from
about 10,000 now to 5,500 by the end of this year and drawing down
to a U.S. embassy presence in Kabul at the end of 2016.
The drawdown strategy has also drawn sharp criticism from
Republicans in Congress, who say that the hard-fought gains made
against the Taliban could be lost in much the same way that
sectarian violence returned to Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal.
 Obama is weighing a request from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to
slow the withdrawal plans, and the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan
has also publicly signaled that he is seeking greater flexibility in
the months ahead.
Carter, a former Pentagon No. 2, said Obama wanted him to make his
own assessment and did not rule out recommending "adjustments" if
necessary.
Carter said he looked forward to an update from Ghani and added the
two would discuss Afghan government-led peace efforts with Taliban
militants.
Senior Pakistani army, Afghan and diplomatic officials said on
Thursday the Afghan Taliban had signaled they were willing to open
peace talks with Kabul.
Asked about peace prospects, Carter said: "I'll have a better chance
to assess that after I've heard from him, because he's really in the
driver's seat of that process.
"Obviously we're supportive of it but it's Afghan-led," he said.
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Carter’s unannounced visit to Afghanistan came after the bloodiest
year in Afghanistan since the war against Taliban militants began in
2001.
Afghanistan's national army and police suffered record losses last
year, with nearly 5,000 killed, a pace that U.S.
military officials caution is unsustainable.
A total of 3,699 Afghan civilians were killed, according to U.N.
data, as fighting intensified in tandem with the sharp drawdown of
U.S. and allied foreign troops who formally ended their combat role
in December.
The emergence of a small number of militants in Afghanistan aligning
themselves with the Islamic State, which swept into northern Iraq
last summer, has underscored anxieties about the dangers as foreign
forces withdraw.
Carter suggested any threat from the Islamic State in Afghanistan
was minimal.
"I’ve see the reports of people essentially rebranding themselves as
ISIL here in Afghanistan, as has occurred in other places," Carter
said, using an acronym for the militant group.
"The reports I’ve seen still have them in small numbers, and
aspirational."
(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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