NATO summit won't discuss drawdown in Afghanistan
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E-mail Xinhua, March 22, 2012
The White House on Wednesday said the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago won't discuss timetable of further withdrawal from Afghanistan, but the war in that country will be a major topic for discussion.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday told reporters on board Air Force One that there will be discussions about Afghanistan in the May NATO summit, mainly about "the strategy and the implementation of the transition," but "there will not be, as I understand it, decisions made about withdrawal timetables beyond the withdrawal that we're currently undertaking."
Carney's comments came after U.S. commander in Afghanistan John Allen said he doesn't expect NATO to consider on additional drawdowns this year after September, when 23,000 U.S. troops are to be withdrawn.
Carney said at the NATO summit, the strategy surrounding the transition "will be very much a topic of conversation," and it has been a conversation among defense ministers in the run-up to the summit.
"The Lisbon framework that will result in the full transfer of security lead to the Afghan forces by the end of 2014 will, as an interim step or interim milestone, produce transfer over of combat lead to Afghan forces in 2013. U.S. forces will continue to partner with Afghan forces, but they will not be in combat lead. The full transfer will happen in 2014," said Carney.
"This is part of the process that will be discussed in Chicago. But we will not have decisions or announcements about the timetable for future drawdowns."
The United States will host NATO members in a Chicago summit in May, with Afghanistan at the top of its agenda. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is set to participate in the summit.
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