U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham says progress is being made towards a strategic partnership agreement so one can authorize a discounted U.S. military presence after the 2014 withdrawal of most Western combat troops.
A recent arrangement that shifts responsibility for detainees and special-forces operations to Afghan control, he said, has allowed for progress on an extended-term strategic partnership that may authorize a U.S. training and support role after 2014.
Cunningham wish to have the formal agreement in place in advance of the approaching NATO summit in Chicago, with a view to take a look at the international community's future role in supporting Afghan forces.
"The outcome of this will likely be a really clear and robust demonstration of long-term international support for Afghanistan," said Cunningham. "That are supposed to send a signal to the folks of Afghanistan and to the region."
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said an Afghan force of 230,000 were agreed upon as a conceptual model, a big reduction from the 352,000-strong Afghan army and national police expected to be in place this year.
The defense minister said the reduction of forces would rely on conditions at the ground and relies on an assumption of diminishing threats from the Taliban.
Afghan forces are funded almost entirely by foreign contributions, and President Hamid Karzai has said the international community has already agreed to give $4 billion annually to fund the Afghan military after 2014. Cunningham failed to provide any specifics on future funding but said the extent of military cooperation will be an ongoing subject of discussions for years yet to come.
American military involvement in Afghanistan has become increasingly unpopular within the U.S., and Afghan resentment of the international military presence have been at the rise following a chain of incidents, including the massacre of 17 Afghan villagers, for which U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was charged, and the inadvertent burning of Qurans at an American military base.
Cunningham said the international community's long-term commitment to remain engaged in Afghanistan in a supporting role might help reduce tensions, maintain stability and will deter insurgents.
"i'd hope that this might encourage the Taliban and others to consider the prospects for agreement rather then what they did yesterday, murdering more Afghan civilians within the streets of your cities," he said.
There was quite a number attacks this week on Afghan forces, including Taliban suicide bombings that killed at the least 16 people on Tuesday.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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