卡尔扎伊将与美国官方讨论阿富汗前途问题

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is set to meet in Washington Thursday with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as the Obama administration deliberates the U.S. military future in Afghanistan.

Mr. Karzai is set to meet with Panetta early in the day Thursday, following a full military honors ceremony to welcome him to the Pentagon.

He is scheduled to meet with Secretary Clinton in the early evening and will then join her for a working dinner.

Mr. Karzai's talks at the Pentagon and the State Department come one day ahead of a one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. The two leaders are expected to discuss security issues, namely how many U.S. troops might be stationed in Afghanistan after the majority pull out in 2014, and under what conditions.

Current plans call for the United States to withdraw nearly all of its 68,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

But that plan hinges on a number of conditions, including whether Afghan forces will be capable of taking over security at that time. It is also not clear what would be the role of the Americans who stay behind, if any do remain.