NATO deciding Afghanistan troops withdrawal plan
Sunday, 21 November 2010
LISBON, Nov 20 (AP): NATO's leaders were deciding the alliance's exit strategy from Afghanistan and what sort of long-term military presence for advising, training and logistics should remain after that to prevent the war-torn nation from slipping back into chaos.
President Barack Obama, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and leaders of the 28-member alliance were meeting behind closed doors fine-tuning a plan for a hand-off of security responsibility to Afghan security forces beginning next year in phases that will be completed by 2014.
"The direction starting is clear, toward Afghan leadership and Afghan ownership (of the war)," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in his opening remarks.
Despite the withdrawal of troops, NATO officials stressed that the alliance will maintain a military presence in Afghanistan far beyond the end of the transition.
"We will agree on a long-term partnership between NATO and Afghanistan to endure beyond the end of our combat mission," Fogh Rasmussen said. "If the enemies of Afghanistan have the idea that they can wait it out until we leave, they have the wrong idea. We will stay as long as it takes to finish our job."
Ivo Daalder, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said the 2014 goal and the end of NATO's combat role in Afghanistan beyond that date "are not one and the same." But many NATO nations have insisted they will remove all their troops by 2014.
The end date to hand Afghans control of security is three years beyond the time that Obama has said he will start withdrawing U.S. troops, and the challenge is to avoid a rush to the exits as public opinion turns more sharply against the war and Karzai pushes for greater Afghan control.
Another major issue on the second day of the two-day summit will be a meeting of NATO's 28 leaders with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
NATO and Moscow are expected to sign agreements to expand the alliance's supply routes to Afghanistan through Russia, and set up a new training program in Russia for counter-narcotics agents from Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries. They also are expected to agree on a program to provide training to Afghan helicopter crews.
Obama won NATO support to build a missile shield over Europe, an ambitious commitment to protect against Iranian attack while demonstrating the alliance's continuing relevance.
Two key unanswered questions about the missile shield - will it work and can the Europeans afford it? - were put aside for the present in the interest of celebrating the agreement as a boost for NATO solidarity.
"It offers a role for all of our allies," Obama told reporters Friday. "It responds to the threats of our times. It shows our determination to protect our citizens from the threat of ballistic missiles." He did not mention Iran by name, acceding to the wishes of NATO member Turkey, which had threatened to block the deal if its neighbor was singled out.
President Barack Obama, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and leaders of the 28-member alliance were meeting behind closed doors fine-tuning a plan for a hand-off of security responsibility to Afghan security forces beginning next year in phases that will be completed by 2014.
"The direction starting is clear, toward Afghan leadership and Afghan ownership (of the war)," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in his opening remarks.
Despite the withdrawal of troops, NATO officials stressed that the alliance will maintain a military presence in Afghanistan far beyond the end of the transition.
"We will agree on a long-term partnership between NATO and Afghanistan to endure beyond the end of our combat mission," Fogh Rasmussen said. "If the enemies of Afghanistan have the idea that they can wait it out until we leave, they have the wrong idea. We will stay as long as it takes to finish our job."
Ivo Daalder, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said the 2014 goal and the end of NATO's combat role in Afghanistan beyond that date "are not one and the same." But many NATO nations have insisted they will remove all their troops by 2014.
The end date to hand Afghans control of security is three years beyond the time that Obama has said he will start withdrawing U.S. troops, and the challenge is to avoid a rush to the exits as public opinion turns more sharply against the war and Karzai pushes for greater Afghan control.
Another major issue on the second day of the two-day summit will be a meeting of NATO's 28 leaders with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
NATO and Moscow are expected to sign agreements to expand the alliance's supply routes to Afghanistan through Russia, and set up a new training program in Russia for counter-narcotics agents from Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries. They also are expected to agree on a program to provide training to Afghan helicopter crews.
Obama won NATO support to build a missile shield over Europe, an ambitious commitment to protect against Iranian attack while demonstrating the alliance's continuing relevance.
Two key unanswered questions about the missile shield - will it work and can the Europeans afford it? - were put aside for the present in the interest of celebrating the agreement as a boost for NATO solidarity.
"It offers a role for all of our allies," Obama told reporters Friday. "It responds to the threats of our times. It shows our determination to protect our citizens from the threat of ballistic missiles." He did not mention Iran by name, acceding to the wishes of NATO member Turkey, which had threatened to block the deal if its neighbor was singled out.