A NATO diplomat said there was no discussion of speeding up the 2014 timeline during the meeting between Karzai and the alliance chief. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with alliance’s regulations, said Karzai was eager to see the next stage of transition, which would have Afghan forces take charge of security for almost the entire country. More in Afghanistan: The way forward There are questions, however, about the ability of the Afghan forces to secure the country. The Afghan army has grown to 184,676 soldiers, and the country’s police force now numbers 146,339 officers – putting them just short of the planned number of 352,000 members. But critics say the rapid expansion has not significantly improved their ability to plan and conduct operations without support from foreign forces in terms of logistics, air support and medical evacuations. Furthermore, the number of Afghans leaving the army has remained stubbornly high, with 27 percent of troops either deserting or not re-enlisting despite the higher salaries offered. And though the number of volunteers is still high, the army needs to train about 50,000 recruits each year just to compensate for the loss. Polls show that the 11-year war has little public support among NATO’s 28 member states, most of which are cutting defense budgets as part of the austerity measures adopted to deal with the financial crises. A recent upsurge in the number of insider attacks on coalition troops by Afghan soldiers or police – or insurgents disguised in their uniforms – has further undermined public support for the war in the West. At least 52 American and other NATO troops have died so far this year in those attacks. In the past several months, there have been calls in the United States and elsewhere to accelerate the drawdown and to withdraw coalition troops by the end of next year. Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance remains committed to help enable Afghan forces assume full responsibility for the country’s security after 2014. The military alliance has also agreed to offer a smaller, post-2014 mission to help Afghan forces with training, advice and assistance. “We are committed to continuing that cooperation with the Afghan national security forces,” he said. The secretary-general and NATO’s governing body, the North Atlantic Council, were visiting Kabul Thursday for meetings with Karzai, coalition military commander Gen. John Allen and commanders of Afghan government forces. The current strategy agreed to by NATO, its partners and Karzai’s government is to enable the Afghans to take over the war against the Taliban and other insurgents by the end of 2014. NATO started drawing down its forces earlier this year. It currently has 104,000 troops in Afghanistan – 68,000 of them Americans – down from 140,000 the alliance had here in 2011. Among those who left are the 33,000 U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan after 2009, when President Barack Obama ordered a surge in a bid to quell the Taliban. Karzai also said he did not believe the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections in the United States would affect Washington’s long-term policy toward Afghanistan regardless of whether President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, emerges as the winner. “America has a set strategy for Afghanistan and any government who comes in will follow that, so it will not affect Afghanistan,” Karzai said.

카지노사이트

It currently has 104,000 troops in Afghanistan — 68,000 of them Americans — down from 140,000 the alliance had here in 2011

KABUL, Afghanistan NATO’s top official said Thursday the alliance remains committed to help enable Afghan forces to assume full responsibility for the country’s security after 2014, when coalition troops are due to end their combat mission. The statement by visiting…

{Pittsburgh woman arrested at “American Idol” audition for trespassing|I’ve been to Texas|”I have a stack this big of airline tickets,” Acosta said to WTAE|According to Acosta, she was arrested after that person left|Louis|St|”I’ve been to California everywhere|She admitted to being questioned by security at the audition, but says one member of the staff told her she was not trespassing and went upstairs to clear the matter|Pictures: “American Idol” season 10

https://www.zrccb1jea.online/

바카라사이트

“This will not become my cafeteria!” he proclaimed.    Inside, Starbucks transformed a former post office into a 25,000-square-foot coffee roastery, reports CBS News’ Seth Doane

Since its start in Seattle in the early 1970s, Starbucks has opened shops all over the world including European nations where coffee culture was already well established. But one place they dared not tread was the coffee-centric land that helped…

Pictures: Taylor Swift

마카오 픽

Pictures: “American Idol” winners

해외 축구 보는 사이트

Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others dead

Senior White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan was in Tripoli to meet Libyan officials Tuesday as the Obama administration continues trying to build a complete picture of the events which led up to a fatal attack on the U.S. Consulate…

Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is the leading cause of vision loss among seniors, gradually eroding crucial central vision

WASHINGTON — An experimental drug is showing promise against an untreatable eye disease that blinds older adults — and intriguingly, it seems to work in patients who carry a particular gene flaw that fuels the damage to their vision. Age-related…

Consulate in Benghazi that left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead

The regional security office for the U.S. Embassy in Libya compiled a running list of 230 security incidents through July 2012 in a memo that ultimately concluded that “the risk of U.S. Mission personnel, private U.S. citizens, or businesspersons encountering…