The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) has approved a landmark plan to hand over
Afghan security to local forces by the middle of
2013 and withdraw combat troops by the end of
2014.
At a two-day summit in Chicago, the
alliance also said it would leave behind a
training mission and vowed Afghanistan "will not
stand alone" after the withdrawal.
"We are
now unified behind a plan to responsibly wind down
the war in Afghanistan," United States President
Barack Obama told the summit's closing news
conference.
Obama acknowledged serious
challenges remain in Afghanistan and described the
Taliban as a "robust enemy".
"I don't
think there's ever going to be an optimal point
where we say, 'This is all done. This is perfect.
This is just the way we
wanted it and now we can
wrap up all our equipment and go home,'" Obama
said. "This is a process, and it's sometimes a
messy process."
Earlier, NATO secretary
general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the
participants had agreed on three key points
regarding Afghanistan.
He described these
three points as "the next stage of our engagement
until our mission is completed at the end of 2014,
the role for NATO after 2014, and thirdly, our
support for the sustainment of future Afghan
security forces",
Rasmussen also declared
that the decision to hand over security in the
country to Afghan forces was "an important
milestone" in NATO's involvement in the 10-year
conflict in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s
ambassador to the United States said his country
is grateful for the support that NATO allies have
pledged and is looking forward to an enduring
partnership with the alliance in the years to
come.
Eklil Hakimi told RFE/RL that
agreements reached between Afghan President Hamid
Karzai and the United States and its NATO partners
will send a strong message to the region and
assure the Afghan people that Kabul will not be
left on its own after NATO ends its combat mission
in the country in 2014.
Hakimi also said
that Afghan forces will be ready by the time NATO
hands over the lead on fighting by mid-2013.
Optimism over Pakistan supply
routes At the Chicago conference, NATO
also called on Pakistan to reopen a key supply
route into Afghanistan "as soon as possible" and
thanked Russia and Central Asian governments for
allowing supply convoys through their territory.
Pakistan shut its borders to NATO supplies
in November after an alliance air raid that left
24 Pakistani soldiers dead.
Pakistani
President Asif Ali Zardari's presence at the
summit had raised hopes that the route would be
reopened, but Zardari's scheduled session with
Rasmussen was called off.
Obama spoke of
"diligent progress" but no breakthrough with
Zardari on the supply lines issue after they spoke
briefly on the sidelines of the summit.
"We didn't anticipate that the supply line
issue was going to be resolved by this summit. We
knew that before we arrived in Chicago," Obama
said.
The US commander in Afghanistan,
General John Allen, told Reuters he was confident
a deal would eventually be struck, but "whether
it's in days or weeks, I don't know."
Afghan funding pledges NATO
also said in a joint summit declaration that the
228,500 Afghan troops that Kabul is expected to
require in the long term will cost an estimated
$4.1 billion per year.
The Afghan
government is expected to come up with $500
million from its own budget.
Meanwhile,
British Prime Minister David Cameron said NATO
allies and their partners in Afghanistan have
pledged almost $1 billion.
Cameron said
Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy and
the Netherlands are among the most recent
countries to have promised contributions. He added
that Britain is planning to provide $111 million a
year.
Separately, Rasmussen said Italy had
pledged $120 million, Australia $100 million, and
Turkey $20 million.
Meanwhile, protests
against the summit continued for a second day in
Chicago, although the demonstrations were notably
smaller than weekend protests that drew thousands.
A clash following a large protest on May
20 resulted in more than 40 arrests.
Copyright (c) 2012, RFE/RL Inc.
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