U.S. Open to Slowing Troop Pullout in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Four days into his tenure as defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday morning and opened up the possibility of slowing the withdrawal of the last American troops in the country to help keep the Taliban at bay.

The 10,000 troops are now conducting counterterrorism operations and advising the Afghan military, and most are scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of 2016.

Mr. Carter said that it was also important to visit because although the combat mission was over, there were still many American troops here. “They come first in my mind always — their welfare — particularly in circumstances like this,” Mr. Carter said of the troops. They are “what I wake up to, and wake up for every day, and I feel that — and want them to know that — and that is where this trip began and begins in my mind.”

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The New York Times