The White House says President Barack Obama will decide the United States' role in Afghanistan within the coming weeks but recognizes that having a partner in that country is going to take more than just one election.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday that Obama spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Kabul by video conference as part of the administration's continuing review of Afghanistan. National security adviser James Jones, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and National Security Council staff members also joined the meeting with Karl Eikenberry, the ambassador, in the White House Situation Room. Gibbs says the group spoke for an hour about the coming Afghan election, but he adds that a single day of voting is not going to resolve questions about Afghanistan.