WASHINGTON - A former US ambassador to Afghanistan said that the cost of maintaining Afghanistan's Security Forces (ASF) after 2014 will be more than three times government revenue, and the shortfall will have to be picked up by the international community.
Speaking on a visit to the Australian capital, Canberra, on Monday, former US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said that building an effective security force will cost about $7 billion annually, dwarfing the $2.5 billion annual revenue of the Afghan government.

"There's a significant shortfall and that will be incumbent then upon the US and our allies and other countries ... to pay for those resource shortfalls," Mr Eikenberry told reporters.

He added that the US and other nations have made great progress in training the Afghan security forces.

Mr Eikenberry said that political will was now needed to transform the foundations that had been built in Afghanistan into lasting political and economic benefits.

Foreign troops will hand over security responsibility to Afghan troops by the end of 2014. In the first phase of transition in July of this year, Afghan security forces assumed responsibility for providing security in seven areas of the country. The second phase will begin soon.

There are currently about 305,600 members of the Afghan army and police, according to the government.