NATO vows to maintain Afghanistan combat role through 2014

By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl Feb 2, 2012, 20:16 GMT

Brussels - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted Thursday that the military alliance would be carrying out combat operations in Afghanistan through 2014, after speculation about its withdrawal plans.

Leaders from NATO countries had previously agreed on 2014 as the year they would pull their combat troops from the country, but US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had appeared to suggest that combat operations could already end in 2013.

'Let me stress that there is no change of timetable. We stick to the roadmap that was outlined at the NATO summit in Lisbon in 2010,' Rasmussen told reporters after talks with NATO defence ministers including Panetta. 'If anyone thinks that the ... mission will be completed by 2013, then I can declare that's not the case.'

NATO started handing over security responsibility to Afghan forces last year in several provinces. Fifty per cent of the population is now under Afghan oversight.

'If we are to hand over full responsibility to the Afghans by the end of 2014, then we have to hand over the last provinces to the Afghans some time before,' Rasmussen said. 'But let me stress: we will conduct combat operations throughout the transition period.'

On his way to the Belgian capital to meet with his NATO counterparts, Panetta had told reporters that 2013 would be a 'critical year,' as 'we'll be going into the final transitions.'

'Our goal is to complete all of that transition in 2013, and then hopefully, by mid- to the latter part of 2013, we'll be able to make ... a transition from a combat role to a training, advice and assist role,' he said, according to a Pentagon transcript.

The White House on Thursday downplayed remarks by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta that the US could seek to end its combat role in Afghanistan earlier than planned.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Panetta's remarks were outlining discussions that he would be having with other defence ministers during a NATO meeting in Brussels, but did not indicate a shift in policy. Carney said the goal remained a transfer to Afghan forces by 2014, but that it could happen sooner depending on circumstances.

Rasmussen further fueled the speculation by telling reporters before the ministers' meeting that 'we expect the last provinces to be handed over to the Afghan security forces by mid-2013.'

Asked late Thursday about that statement, he said there still is 'a broad expectation that the last tranche of transition can take place in 2013,' as long as the situation on the ground remains favourable.

A final decision on that timing will likely not be taken before the next NATO summit in May in Chicago, he said.

'But the main point is that even when the last tranche of provinces and districts have been handed over to lead Afghan responsibility, we will still need to support the Afghan security forces, including by conducting combat operations,' Rasmussen said.

Spanish Defence Minister Pedro Morenes had told reporters earlier that any speculation about a 'speed up' of the withdrawal 'does not correspond to reality.'

German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere spoke of NATO soldiers simply moving 'from the driver's seat to the passenger seat.'

The debate about the wrap-up of the Afghanistan mission had been spurred by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week, when he set late 2013 as the departure date for his country's combat troops - following the killings of four French troops by an Afghan soldier.

Diplomats said that French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet, as well as Panetta, had joined the other defence ministers in agreeing that everyone would be 'in together, out together.'

The Afghanistan operations will be discussed again Friday, when the ministers will meet with representatives of the 22 non-NATO nations that are also involved in the mission.

They were additionally scheduled to tackle the alliance's plan to set up a European missile defence system over dinner on Thursday, with no press statements expected afterward.

Despite stringent Russian objections to the project, Rasmussen said he still believes 'there is a fair chance' of an agreement with the country being reached in time for the May summit.

'I can't give any guarantees,' he said. 'Not as much progress in the talks as we would have hoped to see.'