NATO sets plan to end Afghan war in 2014
Source: Agencies |
May 22, 2012, Tuesday
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UNITED States President Barack Obama and fellow NATO leaders solidified plans yesterday for an "irreversible transition" in Afghanistan, affirming their commitment to ending the deeply unpopular war in 2014 and voicing confidence in the ability of Afghan forces to take the lead for securing their country even sooner.
The alliance leaders, meeting for a second day of talks in Obama's hometown of Chicago, declared in a summit communique that while NATO will maintain a significant presence in Afghanistan after 2014, "this will not be a combat mission."
NATO and its partners formally agreed that Afghan security forces would take control of any combat next summer, with NATO sliding into a support role. Obama called the transition "the next milestone" in bringing the nearly 11-year long war to a close. "This will be another step toward Afghans taking full lead for their security as agreed to by 2014," Obama said as he opened a meeting of NATO leaders and other countries that have participated in the war.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Afghans were already leading security operations in half the country and were on pace to meet next year's targets. "Transition means the people of Afghanistan increasingly see their own army and police in their towns and villages providing their security," he said.
As NATO leaders herald the Afghan war's end, they face the grim reality of two more years of fighting and more troops dying in combat.
Some NATO countries, most recently France, have sought to end their combat commitments early. The Taliban and its allies have warned that they are waiting to fill the void in Afghanistan after NATO leaves.
The alliance leaders, meeting for a second day of talks in Obama's hometown of Chicago, declared in a summit communique that while NATO will maintain a significant presence in Afghanistan after 2014, "this will not be a combat mission."
NATO and its partners formally agreed that Afghan security forces would take control of any combat next summer, with NATO sliding into a support role. Obama called the transition "the next milestone" in bringing the nearly 11-year long war to a close. "This will be another step toward Afghans taking full lead for their security as agreed to by 2014," Obama said as he opened a meeting of NATO leaders and other countries that have participated in the war.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Afghans were already leading security operations in half the country and were on pace to meet next year's targets. "Transition means the people of Afghanistan increasingly see their own army and police in their towns and villages providing their security," he said.
As NATO leaders herald the Afghan war's end, they face the grim reality of two more years of fighting and more troops dying in combat.
Some NATO countries, most recently France, have sought to end their combat commitments early. The Taliban and its allies have warned that they are waiting to fill the void in Afghanistan after NATO leaves.
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