BELGIUM: Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says NATO is not rushing for the exit in Afghanistan, but that the alliance's troops will step back as capability of Afghan security forces improves

Record ID: 702384

  • Title: BELGIUM: Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says NATO is not rushing for the exit in Afghanistan, but that the alliance's troops will step back as capability of Afghan security forces improves
  • Date: 11th October 2012
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 10, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FLAGS OUTSIDE NATO HEADQUARTERS NATO SECRETARY GENERAL ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHER AT NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAB6B6GMYLANMLHHEISS94QBX8K
  • Story Text: NATO defence ministers wrapped up a two day meeting on Wednesday (October 10) saying that the planned withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan was not being sped up.
    Ministers spent a large part of the day discussing the changing nature of the alliance's mission in Afghanistan after the departure of combat troops.
    Speaking to journalists after the close of Wednesday's meeting, NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he had full confidence that Afghan forces would be capable of taking the lead role in security operations when the NATO mission enters a new phase of providing support and training in 2014.
    "The security situation, though there are still challenges, is improving and the capability of the Afghan security forces is also improving and, based on that, I feel confident that the Afghan security forces will be able to take full responsibility by the end of 2014," Rasmussen said.
    Rasmussen reiterated that NATO strategy in Afghanistan remains unchanged despite a recent surge in insider attacks.
    Keen to deflect potential talk of a hurried withdrawal, Rasmussen said the steady departure of troops was an inevitable result of the handover to the Afghans.
    "These announcements are logical results of the handover of lead responsibility to the Afghans. It's not because ISAF partners rush for the exit, it's not because of lack of cohesion within our coalition, on the contrary. We have agreed to hand over to the Afghans and as they step forwards, our troops can step backwards," he said.
    But relations between the two sides have been strained by insider attacks which now account for one in every five combat deaths suffered by NATO-led forces, and 16 percent of all American combat casualties, according to 2012 data.
    Speaking after the ministers meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta characterised such attacks as an attempt to corrupt the relationship between Afghan forces and their NATO allies but said it was a tactic which could not be allowed to succeed.
    "Whatever tactics the enemy throws at us, IEDs, insider attacks, car bombs, we will not allow those tactics to divide us from our Afghan partners, and we will not allow those tactics to divert us from the mission that we are dedicated to," he said.
    In another development in the Afghan mission, it was announced that General Joseph Dunford, assistant commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, had been chosen to lead U.S. and international forces in the country in the coming years, replacing Marine Corps General John Allen who will become NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
    Though both positions require confirmation by the U.S. Senate, there were warm words about the leadership qualities of the two men.
    Allen took over as head of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan in July 2011 at the height of their combat strength and oversaw the withdrawal of the 33,000 troops Obama sent to the region nearly two years ago in an effort to halt the rising strength of the Taliban while Dunford previously served in Iraq.
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