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The new year will open with as many as 10,800 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, 1,000 more than President Barack Obama pledged, with transition plans running several months behind, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

Obama has provided U.S. military commanders the flexibility to manage any temporary force shortfall that we might experience for a few months, the departing defense secretary told reporters in Kabul today, after arriving for what amounts to a farewell tour to review the status of the war and pay tribute to the 800,000 U.S. troops who have served there since 2001.

While Hagel said Obamas plan to withdraw all but 9,800 troops will be breached only for the first few months of 2015, the decision underscores continuing tensions between military commanders concerned that Afghan forces arent ready to stave off the Taliban and a president determined to keep his promise to end Americas longest war.

Under the plan Obama announced in May, the American deployment will drop to about 5,500 troops by the end of 2015, and to about 1,000 by the beginning of 2017, when he leaves office.

Hagel said delays in the Afghan election process and in the signing of a bilateral security agreement created the need to retain more troops than planned for a few months as U.S. allies commit their forces to the continuing mission.

Chuck Hagel, U.S. defense secretary, left, speaks during a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Afghan presidential palace, Kabul, Afghanistan on 06 December, 2014. Close

Chuck Hagel, U.S. defense secretary, left, speaks during a joint press conference with... Read More

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Chuck Hagel, U.S. defense secretary, left, speaks during a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Afghan presidential palace, Kabul, Afghanistan on 06 December, 2014.

Essentially President Obama has just bought some time, Hagel said at a joint press conference with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

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Hagel Visits Afghanistan as U.S. Combat Mission Nears End

Dec. 6, 2014: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, right and and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) walk into a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.(AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan The United States will keep about 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than planned early next year to fill a temporary NATO troop gap in the new mission to train and advise Afghan security forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Saturday on his final visit to this war-weary country as Pentagon chief.

At a news conference with President Ashraf Ghani, Hagel said the original plan to cut U.S. troop levels to 9,800 by the end of 2014 had been abandoned, but not because of a recent surge in Taliban attacks.

Hagel said the U.S. will keep up to 10,800 troops for the first few months of 2015 and then restart the drawdown, which is scheduled to reach 5,500 troops by the end of next year.

The U.S. decided to keep additional forces in the country temporarily because planned troop commitments by U.S. allies for a NATO train-and-assist mission starting in January have been slow to materialize.

Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told reporters in an interview later Saturday that he is confident NATO members will furnish the necessary number of troops for the new training mission, which begins Jan. 1. It's just going to take a few extra weeks or months to get them in Afghanistan, he said.

Campbell, who took over on Aug. 26 and has served two previous tours in Afghanistan, spoke glowingly of the new government led by Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

"It's like night and day difference dealing with this government," compared with the previous government led by Hamid Karzai, who was often publicly critical of U.S. military efforts against the Taliban insurgency, Campbell said.

Campbell said the morale and confidence of Afghan forces have been boosted by Ghani's enthusiastic embrace of their efforts and sacrifices.

While flying to Kabul from Washington, Hagel was receiving almost continuous updates on the U.S. commando raid in Yemen to rescue an American hostage, photojournalist Luke Somers.

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US to keep 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than planned early next year - Hagel says Afghans on right track after ...

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks during a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on December 6, 2014. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The United States will keep about 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than planned early next year to fill a temporary NATO troop gap in the new mission to train and advise Afghan security forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Saturday on his final visit to this war-weary country as Pentagon chief.

At a news conference with President Ashraf Ghani, Hagel said the original plan to cut U.S. troop levels to 9,800 by the end of 2014 had been abandoned, but not because of a recent surge in Taliban attacks.

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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel talked about why he left, his relationship with President Obama and the beginning of his career.

Hagel said the U.S. will keep up to 10,800 troops for the first few months of 2015 and then restart the drawdown, which is scheduled to reach 5,500 troops by the end of next year.

The U.S. decided to keep additional forces in the country temporarily because planned troop commitments by U.S. allies for a NATO train-and-assist mission starting in January have been slow to materialize.

Gen. John Campbell, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told reporters in an interview later Saturday that he is confident NATO members will furnish the necessary number of troops for the new training mission, which begins Jan. 1. It's just going to take a few extra weeks or months to get them in Afghanistan, he said.

Campbell, who took over on Aug. 26 and has served two previous tours in Afghanistan, spoke glowingly of the new government led by Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

"It's like night and day difference dealing with this government," compared with the previous government led by Hamid Karzai, who was often publicly critical of U.S. military efforts against the Taliban insurgency, Campbell said.

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Hagel: More U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan than initially planned

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