(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) bul April 15 - The Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner visited Afghanistan on Monday to underscore call for U.S. forces to remain in the country beyond 2014 and review the April 5 elections. This was the first high-profile visit by an American official in Afghanistan since presidential and provincial council elections. Boehner accompanied by a delegation of seven US lawmakers met with the American forces US ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham and NATO commander Gen. Joseph Dunford. Boehner's office following a statement said "The delegation sent a strong unequivocal message that the House of Representatives wants to maintain a right-sized presence in Afghanistan to successfully complete the work that has been done to date and to honor the sacrifice of thousands of troops and civilians as well as their families." The visit by US lawmakers comes as U.S. officials weigh how many if any American troops to leave in Afghanistan after the end of the year. According to reports Washington is considering leave about 8000 troops to train Afghan forces and for a counter-terrorism mission once the bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington is signed. However President Hamid Karzai has so far declined to sign the security deal with Washington which would give a legal framework for the presence of US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014. In the meantime all the frontrunners in the presidential election have vowed that they would sign the bilateral agreement
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