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FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2015, file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addresses a new conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. The pace of U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will be at the center of Ghanis visit to Washington, yet Americas exit from the war remains tightly hinged to the abilities of the Afghan forces that face a tough fight against insurgents this spring. (AP Photo/Jonathan Ernst, Pool)(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2015, file photo, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, left, walks with U.S. Army Gen. John Campbell upon arrival at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. The pace of U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will headline Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis visit to Washington(AP Photo/Jonathan Ernst, Pool)(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2015, file photo, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, second right, arrives for a news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. The pace of U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will be at the center of Ghanis visit to Washington, yet Americas exit from the war remains tightly hinged to the abilities of the Afghan forces that face a tough fight against insurgents this spring. (AP Photo/Jonathan Ernst, Pool)(The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON The pace of U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will headline Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's visit to Washington, yet America's exit from the war remains tightly hinged to the abilities of the Afghan forces that face a tough fight against insurgents this spring.

President Barack Obama has promised to end the longest U.S. war it began in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and get the remaining troops out of Afghanistan by the end of his presidency. Deficiencies in the Afghan security forces, heavy casualties in the ranks of the army and police, a fragile new government and fears that Islamic State fighters could gain a foothold in Afghanistan have combined to persuade Obama to slow the withdrawal.

Instead of trimming the current U.S. force of 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of the year, U.S. military officials say the administration now might keep many of them there well into 2016. Obama had said that after that, the U.S. would only maintain an embassy-based security force in Kabul of perhaps 1,000 troops. But on Friday, Jeff Eggers of the White House's National Security Council said that too could be changed. He said the post-2016 plan will be considered on an on-going basis.

At stake is the U.S. taxpayers' more than $60 billion investment so far in the Afghan forces. The 327,000-member force performs much better than before, but still needs work.

While praising their ability to operate mostly independently and securing the nation during a protracted election, U.S. military officials say the Afghan forces still suffer from a host of problems: attrition, drug abuse, desertions, illiteracy, poor record-keeping, a lack of management and logistical skills, intelligence, a shortage of top-notch leaders and less-than-optimal cooperation between policemen and soldiers.

They also are suffering massive casualties as they ramp up operations.

More than 1,300 members of the Afghan army were killed in action and another 6,200 were wounded in action between October 2013 and September 2014, according to a report this month from the special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction. Casualties in the ranks of policemen are even higher. In nearly 14 years of fighting, at least 2,200 U.S. military service men and women have been killed.

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US exit from Afghanistan hinged to performance of Afghan security forces