U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base, where he said any early withdrawal from Afghanistan or Iraq would lead to new terrorist attacks on Americans at home.
Earlier in Kabul, Rumsfeld said any reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will not weaken the campaign against Taliban fighters and Al-Qaeda terrorists operating in the country.
On 21 December, Rumsfeld said the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan would shrink from 19,000 to 16,000 by next summer.
German Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung is on his way to the Afghan capital Kabul to meet with members of the 2,300-strong German contingent there. They are part of a NATO force carrying out security operations in Kabul. The German defense minister will also meet Afghan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for talks.
(AP/dpa)
RFE/RL's World: 2005 In Pictures
A slideshow of images related to the top news stories of 2005 from throughout RFE/RL's broadcast region with links to RFE/RL's reporting.
See also:
2005 In Review: Central Asia Witnesses Revolution, Continued Crackdown
2005 In Review: Does The Presence Of Western Election Observers Make A Difference?
2005 In Review: The Geopolitical Game In Central Asia
2005 In Review: Migrants, Refugees Victims Of Incoherent Laws In Post-Soviet States
2005 In Review: The Transformation Of Television In Russia
2005 In Review: Russia's Centralization Gathers Pace
2005 In Review: A Year Of Hopes, Disappointments For Afghans And Iraqis
