The move comes days after NATO members wrapped up a key summit on the future of the occupation of Afghanistan after 2014. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta denied claims the U.S. plans to keep 8,000 to 12,000 troops in Afghanistan after its formal withdrawal in 2014. Panetta said those figures would comprise the total NATO force, not just the U.S. contingent.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: “We want to be able to have the flexibility to look at a range of options that we ought to have for our enduring presence, but I want to make very clear that the range of options we were discussing was with regards to the NATO force, and the NATO force consists of both a U.S. presence plus NATO contributions.”