Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari insisted his forces were on track in protecting the Iraqi people.
Home Office figures for the year to March 2016 showed that the number of armed officers in England and Wales dropped by eight, but police chiefs have insisted that forces are on track to get the extra marksmen in place over the next 18 months.
Afghan forces are on track to surpass the 20,000 total in casualties sustained last year, including nearly 5,000 dead.
Mr. Ashcroft was appointed head of a new task force on tracking terrorists to make sure they do not enter the United States, and the Justice, Treasury and State Departments were instructed to work with Canada and Mexico on coordinating their immigration policies.
"If a section of track is judged to be at risk, we introduce local speed restrictions - slower trains exert lower forces on the track and reduce the chance of buckling".
Ms. Flournoy said that despite gaps in the training program, the Afghan National Army was on schedule to meet a goal of 134,000 troops this year, and that the Afghan National Police force was on track to reach its goal of 109,000 officers in the same period.
Prince Muhammad, who did not address the group, deflected a question about where the security forces stood on tracking down the kingdom's most wanted terrorists.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden made it clear that the option Mr. Biden had proposed was not a pure counterterrorism alternative, relying only on drones and Special Forces to track down leaders of Al Qaeda.
The latest figures suggest Afghan security forces might be on track for an even bloodier year than 2015, when more than 5,000 of their number were killed and 14,000 wounded.
Although forces were broadly on track to make spending cuts of up to 20% by March 2015, that was not guaranteed.
