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AP Photo/Mark Wilson, Pool US military forces listen to U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaking at Tactical Base Gamberi in eastern Afghanistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014.

The Obama administration is considering slowing its planned withdrawal from Afghanistan for the second time, according to U.S. officials, a sign of the significant security challenges that remain despite an end to the U.S. and NATO combat mission there.

Under the still-evolving plans, Army Gen. John F. Campbell, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, could be given greater latitude to determine the pace of the drawdown in 2015 as foreign forces scramble to ensure Afghan troops are capable of battling Taliban insurgents on their own, the officials said.

The options under discussion would not alter what is perhaps the most important date in President Obamas plan: ending the U.S. military mission entirely by the time he steps down in early 2017.

But Campbell might temporarily retain more than the 5,500 troops slated to remain in Afghanistan at the end of 2015, keep regional training hubs open longer than planned or reorganize plans to close bases including Kandahar Airfield, a major endeavor that would draw troops away from efforts to advise Afghan security forces.

Campbell and top Obama aides are expected to discuss the options at a White House meeting Wednesday.

The defining elements of the plan are more or less intact, a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning. All were looking at at this point is either variations within those or subtle variations of the current framework.

Officials hope to finalize a decision before Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visits Washington in March. Ghani has appealed to Obama to reexamine his drawdown schedule.

We are cognizant of the fact that weve got to get in front of the so-called spring fighting season in Afghanistan and provide allies time to make their own troop plans, the official said.

Campbell already faces a tight timeline for the twin mission he commands in Afghanistan, a NATO effort to advise Afghan security forces and a separate U.S. program that conducts limited operations against al-Qaeda and other militants.

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U.S. may slow exit of troops from Afghanistan