NATO Summit to focus on Afghanistan, alliance future
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E-mail Xinhua, May 18, 2012
The heads of state and government from 28 member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are to convene in Chicago this weekend for the security bloc's 25th summit, with the issue of Afghanistan and the alliance future dominating the agenda.
Afghanistan
With NATO set to hand over security responsibility to the Afghan side by the end of 2014, the alliance is set to negotiate what happens both before and after that date in Afghanistan.
U.S. officials have long indicated that the most important topic at the summit would be Afghanistan. Philip Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, made the point during a recent Senate hearing.
Gordon said the United States anticipates three results from the summit, including an agreement on an interim milestone in 2013 when the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) mission will shift from combat to support for the Afghan national security forces; an agreement on the size, cost and sustainment of the Afghan forces beyond 2014; and a roadmap for NATO's post-2014 role in Afghanistan.
Prior to the summit, the United States has already inked a strategic pact with the Afghans, which lays out future support for the Afghan government and its national security forces until 2024. U.S. forces also secured access to Afghan facilities beyond 2014, allowing it to continue training of Afghan forces and counterterrorism missions.
Paraag Shukla, senior research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, told Xinhua in an interview that in signing the agreement prior to the Chicago summit, the United States "sets up a framework in which we can engage our international partners to also provide their own firm commitment to Afghanistan."
James Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe, expressed optimism on the outcome of such negotiations.
"What I am hoping to see is a commitment to resourcing the Afghan national security forces post-2014," Stavridis said Monday of the May 20-21 summit, which will include the 28 NATO heads of state and government representatives from many of the 50 nations that make up the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
"I am fairly confident we will see that, and I think that will be the key to long-term success," Stavridis said.
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