Handover to Afghans will start in 2011: NATO
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.
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