President Barack Obama will hold a videoconference with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Wednesday, the White House said as the US administration weighs a calendar to pull out troops.

The news came after Obama met for two hours with his national security team Monday to discuss the war in Afghanistan and the situation in neighboring Pakistan, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The White House meeting in the Situation Room came a little over a month after US Navy SEALs killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his hideout deep in Pakistan.

The killing fueled calls for a major withdrawal when Obama fulfills a vow to begin pulling out troops in July, a promise he made in December 2009 before deploying 30,000 "surge" forces to Afghanistan.

It also comes amid tensions with Afghan leaders, after Karzai last week issued a furious warning over civilian casualties, saying the US-led foreign military risks becoming an "occupying force" if fatal air strikes continue.

A looming US decision on troop drawdowns could include a timeline for pulling out 30,000 "surge" forces deployed last year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a farewell visit to Afghanistan.

He indicated for the first time Sunday that Obama may lay out a long-term plan for US troop levels over the next few years.

But Carney said Obama had not yet made any decision, promising any decision would be a "real drawdown" but would depend on "conditions on the ground."

He said the withdrawal calendar was not discussed at Monday's meeting between Obama and his national security team.

"The president has not received yet a recommendation from these commanders or the secretary of defense for a troop drawdown figure, that will obviously be a decision he makes relatively soon," he said, adding he did not have a date for it.

Carney said Gates briefed Obama by video on his visit to Afghanistan "in preparation for the president's upcoming videoconference with president Karzai which will take place on Wednesday June 8."

Obama sent 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in a bid to reverse a Taliban insurgency that has become increasingly deadly since the 2001 US-led invasion brought down their regime, and vowed to begin a pullout by mid-2011.

A war-weary American public's opposition is growing and patience in Congress is wearing thin as the conflict approaches its 10-year mark with no let-up in sight from the Taliban insurgents and a soaring body-count.

The New York Times reported that Obama's national security team is pondering much bigger reductions than those discussed even a few weeks ago following bin Laden's death and amid concerns over the war's cost.

A senior US official denied a Times claim that Obama is expected to announce his decision on troop withdrawals in an address to the nation this month, telling AFP: "There's not a speech scheduled or written that I'm aware of."

Roughly 100,000 US troops are still stationed in Afghanistan as part of a 130,000-strong international force.

earlier related report
US weighs timeline on Afghan surge pullout: Gates
Kabul (AFP) June 6, 2011 - A looming US decision on troop drawdowns in Afghanistan could include a timeline for pulling out 30,000 "surge" forces deployed last year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

In a farewell visit to Afghanistan before quitting as Pentagon chief, Gates indicated for the first time Sunday that President Barack Obama may lay out a long-term plan for US troop levels over the next few years.

Obama is to reveal soon how many US troops will return home in July as control of security passes from foreign to Afghan troops in seven areas, amid reports that the figure could be higher than planned even a few weeks ago.

The transfer marks the first phase of a handover due to conclude by the end of 2014, when all foreign combat troops are supposed to have withdrawn.

Speaking to US Marines in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, one of the war's worst battlefields, Gates said there were "two intermediate numbers that need to be resolved".

"One is, what is the size of the reduction that will be announced in July?" he said. "But the other is, at what point do you bring home the surge (forces)?"

Obama sent 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in a bid to reverse a Taliban insurgency that has become increasingly deadly since the 2001 US-led invasion brought down their regime, and vowed to begin a pullout by mid-2011.

The "surge" of US reinforcements implied a "temporary" move, said Gates, before asking: "So how long should the surge last?"

"And I think that is the second bookend, if you will, in the decision that I think the president is going to need to make over the course of the next few weeks," he added.

Obama will hold a videoconference with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Wednesday as the US administration weighs the calendar to pull out troops, the White House said.

The news came after Obama met for two hours with his national security team Monday to discuss the war in Afghanistan and the situation in neighbouring Pakistan, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

But Carney said Obama had not yet made any decision.

With US public opposition to the war growing and patience in Congress wearing thin, Obama faces a difficult decision on troop numbers just as commanders say they are making headway.

The killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US Navy SEALs at his hideout in Pakistan last month has fuelled calls for a major withdrawal.

The New York Times reported Monday that White House national security advisors are pondering much bigger reductions than those discussed even a few weeks ago following bin Laden's death and amid concerns over the war's cost.

Obama is expected to announce his decision on troop withdrawals in a speech to the nation this month, it added.

US officials were previously anticipating an initial drawdown of 3,000 to 5,000 troops, the paper said.

Gates said on the first day of his Afghan visit Saturday that a "modest" number of troops would likely be pulled out in July.

He also argued for maintaining pressure on the insurgents to force them to the negotiating table -- possibly by the end of the year.

In another visit to a base on the outskirts of Kandahar city, Gates made clear he would prefer to start pulling out support troops rather than combat forces, saying: "If it were up to me, I would leave the shooters for last."

However, he later acknowledged to reporters that withdrawal plans would have to draw from both support troops and combat units.

General David Petraeus, the US commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, has also repeatedly warned against too hasty a withdrawal of troops, saying that while they have achieved considerable momentum, gains are fragile.

Gates, who is in Afghanistan until Tuesday, is touring the country saying farewell to some of the roughly 100,000 US troops stationed in Afghanistan as part of a 130,000-strong international force.

He is due to leave his job at the end of the month after four-and-a-half years and was due to visit US troops in eastern Afghanistan on Monday.

Parts of the east, which has a porous border with Pakistan where insurgents have hideouts, have seen fierce fighting in recent months.

Provinces such as Kunar and Nuristan are now seen as being among the most dangerous in Afghanistan, alongside more traditional battlegrounds like Helmand and Kandahar in the south.

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