Cameron meets Obama to plot Afghan endgame David Cameron has begun a three-day visit to the US to map out an "endgame" for western intervention in Afghanistan, admitting that the country will still be poor and not "a perfect democracy" when troops leave. The prime minister and Barack Obama, US president, will discuss plans to hand over lead combat roles to Afghan forces in mid-2013, leading to full British withdrawal by the end of 2014. Although Mr Cameron will be accused by some of pulling out before the mission is complete, he said on Tuesday: "I think people want an endgame. They want to know that our troops are going to come home, they have been there a very long time. Speaking to reporters en route to Washington, he said: "What I define as doing the job is leaving Afghanistan looking after its own security, not being a haven for terror, without the involvement of foreign troops. I accept it won't be a perfect democracy. There will be huge development problems. Mr Cameron began foreign policy talks with the US president on Tuesday on board Air Force One as they headed to Dayton, Ohio, to watch the "March Madness" college basketball tournament. Syria also dominated discussions, with Mr Cameron and Mr Obama both favouring diplomatic pressure and sanctions rather than military intervention. British officials say that any comparison with the west's role in Libya is misleading. Syria's air defences are effective and there is no Syrian equivalent to Libya's National Transitional Council with which the west can easily work. The shortest way of ending the violence is a transition where [Syrian president Bashar-al] Assad goes, rather than a revolution from the bottom. Mr Cameron will also be debriefed by the US president on the recent visit to Washington of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel prime minister, and the prospect for Israeli strikes on Iran. Both leaders are expected to agree that while military action against Iran should remain on the table, diplomatic efforts and sanctions should be given more time. The prime minister is accompanied by his wife Samantha on her first official overseas visit and his schedule is certain to generate a wealth of photo-opportunities to underscore "the special relationship." For once, the US president stands to gain almost as much as the British prime minister from this visit: last night's basketball diplomacy took place in the key swing state of Ohio. Mr Cameron insists he is not taking sides in the US presidential election, but he is not meeting any of the Republican candidates on this visit. The prime minister has vowed to move away from Britain's "needy" relationship with the US and said: "We shouldn't have to take its temperature all the time. Sometimes we can over-analyse how many phone calls and how many meetings, but I don't look at it like that. Obama's approach is deeply rational and reasonable and also very strong. On Thursday Mr Cameron travels to New York for talks with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.