WASHINGTON: NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said ahead of talks with President Barack Obama Tuesday that he hoped US-led troops would begin handing over responsibility to Afghan security forces sometime next year.
The secretary-general said he expected the transatlantic alliance would unveil plans at a November summit in Lisbon for a gradual transition to Afghan forces in 2011, in line with Obama`s plans to begin a US withdrawal in July.
"I hope that by November we will be in a position to make announcements as to where transition can start in broad terms at least," Rasmussen told reporters during a visit to Washington.
"I do believe the president`s July 2011 deadline, so to speak, fits neatly into this concept."
He declined to predict the precise timeline for the handover or in which provinces or districts Afghan forces might be able to take the lead for security.
NATO officials and some European leaders had at one point forecast that a handover of security duties could begin this year.
Later, Rasmussen met Obama in private talks in the Oval Office, and discussed NATO and US approaches to implementing Afghan strategy.
Obama said he looked forward to discussing reforming NATO and the western alliance` commitment to cyber- and missile defenses during the Lisbon summit, according to a White House statement.
US military and NATO officials have been laying the ground for the summit and a US strategy review in December, with alliance members expected to declare progress in the war -- nearly nine years after a US-led invasion launched in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
With casualties rising, public support for the war is on the decline on both sides of the Atlantic, and US and European leaders are anxious to find a way to begin pulling out the nearly 150,000 troops on the ground. Some countries have already quit the mission.
But Rasmussen suggested that even if the transition goes ahead, no major troop withdrawal was on the horizon.
Even as Afghan forces assume the leading role in some districts, he said international troops in the area might remain in the country to take up other tasks instead of being withdrawn.
Rasmussen also said NATO was elaborating criteria for transition that would take into account not only security conditions but also the Afghan government`s ability to deliver public services to citizens.
The transition had to be "irreversible," as it would be a "disaster" to have to resume the leading role for security after a handover, he added.
"The Taliban can bomb, they can assassinate, they can terrorize. But they can`t take power. They can`t win," the former Danish prime minister said, as he vowed NATO would not withdraw until conditions allowed. "We have difficult days and months and years ahead, but NATO will stay the course."
A Pentagon spokesman meanwhile said the United States expected its allies to meet a request from the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan for more troops to train the country`s security forces.
General David Petraeus has called on the alliance to provide 2,000 troops, including units that could help instruct Afghan security forces.
Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said the request was a longstanding requirement that did not change the size of the international force, and that the US military had no plans to meet it.
"This is not a new requirement," said Lapan, adding that the alliance had merely "revalidated" the need for the troops.
BDST: 9:48 HRS, September 08 2010
