U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement
The draft agreement says that U.S. military and Defense Department civilian personnel are exempt from visa requirements and taxation. Afghan taxes and other fees will not be imposed on the entry or exit of goods specifically for the use of U.S. forces. An annex to the draft lists locations where Afghanistan agrees to provide facilities for U.S. forces, including Kabul; Bagram, north of the capital, where the United States has its largest current base; Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan; Herat in the west; Kandahar in the south; Shindand in Herat province; Sharab in Helmand province; Gardez, south of Kabul; and Jalalabad, to the east. The draft document gives the U.S. the right to deploy American forces on nine bases, including the two biggest, the airfields in Bagram and Kandahar. It also allows U.S. military planes to fly in and out of Afghanistan from seven air bases, including Kabul International Airport. U.S. forces would be permitted under the document to transport supplies from five border crossings, described along with the air bases as "official points of embarkation and debarkation." All bases in Afghanistan would revert to Afghan ownership and sovereignty after 2014, according to the draft.
Afghanistan–United States relations
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has an embassy in Washington DC, as well as a consulate in New York City and another in Los Angeles. The current Afghan Ambassador to the United States is Hamdullah Mohib, replacing Eklil Ahmad Hakimi in early 2015.
The United States Armed Forces have been gradually rising its troop level in Afghanistan since 2002, reaching about 100,000 in 2010. They are to begin leaving slowly between mid-2011 to the end of 2014. However, Vice President Joe Biden has proposed to station an unknown number of the U.S. military forces after 2014. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also suggested that the United States should stay in Afghanistan permanently. He claims that this would benefit both nations, as the U.S. would have a clear idea about what was happening in the region on a daily basis, and Afghan security forces would have an edge militarily to ensure that the country never went back into the hands of the Taliban. He further claimed that Afghan leaders accept this long-term U.S. military presence since it benefits them, but neighboring Iran and some of its allies are opposed to it, though this claim is disputable.
In January 2017, the U.S. decided to send 300 Marines to Afghanistan's Helmand province to assist Afghan security forces to battle Taliban insurgents in intelligence and logistics matters.