Delaying security deal a risk to Afghan forces: U.S. military chief --- (Reuters) - The U.S. military could wait months for a political decision on whether troops stay or leave Afghanistan, but delaying a security pact would damage the confidence of Afghan forces and undermine NATO's plans, the top U.S. military officer said on Wednesday. -- The comments by General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, came amid an impasse over the security pact, which would allow American troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the end of 2014. -- President Barack Obama's administration has said the pact needs to be signed this year, despite resistance from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has suggested the deal might not be concluded before presidential elections in April 2014. - Dempsey also said the pact "really needs to be done now." -- A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said delays in finalizing the security pact could damage international support critical to any NATO military presence beyond 2014, when the NATO combat mission ends. - More