Obama, Karzai agree to accelerate military transition

Source : Voice of Russia

Afghan security forces will control 90 percent of the country’s territory from February just as US troops continue their pullout, according to a joint statement to this effect made by Afghan and U.S. Presidents on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Friday they have agreed to slightly speed up the schedule for moving Afghanistan's security forces into the lead across the country, with U.S. troops shifting fully to a support role. The leaders also said Obama agreed to place battlefield detainees under the control of the Afghan government.

The two leaders say the Afghan army is "exceeding initial expectations" and the Afghan forces will be put in the combat lead across Afghanistan this spring, rather than wait until summer as was initially planned.

Obama said it was not certain what it would mean for the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals this year. He said that was "something that isn't yet fully determined." He also cautioned that while U.S. troops will fall back into primarily a support, American forces will still likely see combat.

Afghans now lead about 80% of operations and by February are expected to have a lead in securing 90% of the Afghan population, according to a joint statement issued by Obama and Karzai.

The most important item on the two leaders' agenda were talks on whether the United States will have a residual presence in the country beyond 2014, when the U.S. and its allies are scheduled to end combat operations.

Some U.S. commanders have proposed fewer than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014, to keep battling terrorists and training Afghan forces.

Karzai declined to spell out the size of a contingency force he'd like to see left behind.

"Number are not going to make a difference to the situation in Afghanistan," Karzai said."It's the relationship that will make a difference in Afghanistan."

There are currently 66,000 troops in Afghanistan.