LISBON (Reuters) – NATO endorsed a plan today to hand control of security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014 and the alliance’s leader said the NATO-led force would cease combat operations by then.
But senior US officials cast doubt on whether the United States, the dominant power in the 28-nation alliance, would end its own combat mission before 2015 because President Barack Obama has not yet set a date for this.
Some NATO officials also fear a rise in violence could make it hard to meet the target date set by Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the security handover, which would leave a vastly reduced number of foreign troops in a training and support role.
Despite the concerns, NATO leaders backed the timetable for the security handover at a summit attended by the Afghan president and 48 countries with troops in Afghanistan.
“Today marks the beginning of a new phase in our mission in Afghanistan,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
“I don’t foresee ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) troops in a combat role beyond 2014, provided of course that the security situation allows us to move into a more supportive role.”
Karzai told a news conference he also believed the handover, starting early next year, could be completed by the end of 2014.
“We are confident the transition will succeed to the Afghan authority, leadership and ownership, because I found today strong commitment by the international community,” Karzai said.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cautioned, however, that the handover must be shaped by the security situation and not by timetables.
“There are no short cuts to peace,” he said.
The senior US officials also raised doubts about the target date for the end of combat operations, saying Obama would decide when the U.S. combat mission ends only after he reviews progress in the war.
“The administration has not taken that decision yet,” an official said.
Headache for Obama
The Afghan conflict is widely seen as going badly for the United States and NATO, and is a tough political problem for Obama. Many countries want to withdraw troops gradually as the war becomes increasingly unpopular.
Obama, who has sent 30,000 more US troops to the war in the past year to try to quell the Taliban-led insurgency, intends to start withdrawing some of them in July 2011. He also supports efforts at reconciliation with the Taliban.
Rasmussen said the strategy did not mean all 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan would leave by the end of 2014.
“Let there be no doubt about our continuing commitment. Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism is of strategic, global importance,” he said.
“If the enemies of Afghanistan have the idea that they can just wait it out until we leave, they have the wrong idea. We will stay as long as it takes to finish our job.”
The US-led intervention in Afghanistan began in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. The United States and its allies invaded to overthrow the then-ruling Taliban, who had refused to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
More than 2,200 foreign troops have been killed there in the past decade and the death rate is on the increase.
The withdrawal strategy hinges on efforts to build up Afghan forces so they can contain the widening insurgency, with a target strength of more than 300,000 by the end of 2011.
That has been hampered by high desertion rates, and the Kabul government is widely regarded as too corrupt, unstable and inept to survive long without foreign military support.
NATO will also seek Russian assistance during talks at the summit with President Dmitry Medvedev, whose country is not part of the NATO military alliance and was its enemy in the Cold War.
Moscow fought a war in Afghanistan from 1979-89 before withdrawing in defeat. It will not send troops to join the NATO-led force but is expected to allow equipment to go through its territory and provide specialized helicopters.
NATO will also invite Russia to take part in a US-European missile defense system designed to protect against a long-range attack from the Middle East or North Korea.
Portuguese police said they detained 42 anti-NATO protesters who blocked a road near the summit venue but there were no reports of violence.
