Hagel: Full U.S. Retreat From Afghanistan 'A Very Real Possibility'

(CNSNews.com) - Although he didn't call it a "retreat," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that all American troops will have to leave Afghanistan in 2014 unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai signs a security agreement with the United States.

"Well, you can use any term you want, 'retreat' or 'not renewing our efforts here post-2014.' You can say it any way you want. But what I'm saying is, unless we have the security of an agreement to protect our forces, then we'll have no choice. We'll -- we will not be able to stay," Hagel told CBS News State Department correspondent Margaret Brennan.

The interview aired Sunday on "Face the Nation."

Hagel said removing all troops from Afghanistan is "a very real possibility, because if we don't have a bilateral security agreement...that means we can't protect our forces that would be here after 2014; no international partners will come."

"Did the U.S. miscalculate in thinking he (Karzai) could be a partner?" Brennan asked Hagel.

"We were surprised," Hagel said.

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