The United States is also talking with NATO and other allies about whether they would contribute troops post-2014, a senior State Department official said on Thursday.

The American presence will extend beyond security to diplomats. The State Department is planning on maintaining its Kabul embassy as well as four consulates in Heart, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazzar, said the senior State Department official.

Those facilities could be protected by troops or security contractors, the official said.