You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Afghanistan
NATO chief denies accelerating Afghan troop withdrawal
2012-04-04
BRUSSELS: NATO’s chief denied on Monday that the alliance was speeding up the withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan as he sought to clear up ‘confusion’ over the pullout planned for the end of 2014. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted that NATO was sticking to the timeline agreed at the Lisbon summit in November 2010 after recent comments from Western and Afghan officials indicated that 2013 was a new target.

“There is nothing new in all this but maybe it is necessary to clarify these timelines because sometimes they are mixed up in a way that creates some confusion,” Rasmussen told a news conference.

Rasmussen explained that control of the last provinces must be handed over in the middle or the second half of 2013.

“That’s why the year 2013 has suddenly been mentioned,” he said. “It’s not about accelerating the transition process, but it’s actually in order to stick to the Lisbon roadmap that we have to take 2013 into account."

It takes 12 to 18 months to complete the transition of provinces to Afghan forces, he noted. Afghan security forces are in the lead in provinces representing half the countryÂ’s population, including the capital Kabul.
Posted by:Steve White

00:00