Gen. Joseph Dunford on troops in AfghanistanThe U.S. commander of international forces in Afghanistan said on Tuesday he will make a recommendation of how many American troops should remain in Afghanistan after he sees how well Afghan security handles the summer fighting season.

While speaking during a senate panel Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford said he is not yet recommending a specific number of forces for the period after the allied combat role ends in December 2014.

“From my perspective, winning is achievable,” Dunford, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Dunford, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, defined winning as completing the transition to an Afghan lead on security, supporting a democratic political process and denying al-Qaida sanctuary.

“If we do those three things … I believe by the end of 2014, we can look at the families and the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that have served over the last 11 years and say that we won,” he said.

In the meantime Dunford stressed repeatedly that the United States could not make a troop commitment until it had signed a bilateral security agreement with the Afghan government.

Washington and Kabul have been negotiating such a pact, which would address the relationship of the two countries for years to come.

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