美法結束阿富汗使命後北約路線圖將繼續

NATO Secretary General Anders-Fogh Rasmussen says the coalition's timeline for the security transition in Afghanistan still stands, despite recent announcements from the United States and France.U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have each suggested the coalition should end its combat role in 2013, more than a year ahead of previous plans, and switch to training and advising Afghan troops through 2014. Rasmussen said ahead of Thursday's NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels that the alliance will stand by its previously agreed to plan to wind up operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

But the NATO secretary-general noted that international troops will hand over security control of the last Afghan provinces to Afghan forces by the middle of next year. He said starting in mid-2013, Afghan security forces will "take the lead" and coalition troops will gradually change from "combat to support." He said "in that, there is nothing new." Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters traveling to Brussels with him that "hopefully by the mid-to-latter part of 2013 we will be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role." French President Sarkozy announced earlier this month that his country will withdraw its combat forces from Afghanistan in 2013, a year earlier than planned.北約祕書長拉斯穆森說，儘管美國和法國最近宣佈了提前結束阿富汗作戰使命，北約向阿富汗移交安全責任的時間表仍然有效。美國國防部長帕內塔和法國總統薩科齊都曾經表示，聯軍應當提前一年，即在2013年停止在阿富汗作戰，在2014年轉而爲阿富汗軍隊提供訓練和顧問。星期四，拉斯穆森在北約各國國防部長在布魯塞爾開會前表示，北約將遵守原先達成的計劃，在2014年底之前結束在阿富汗的行動。

但是拉斯穆森指出，國際聯軍將在明年中期之前把最後幾個阿富汗省份的安全控制交給阿富汗軍隊。他說，2014年中期開始，阿富汗軍隊將處於領導地位，聯軍將逐步從作戰改爲支持性作用。他說，這一方面沒有任何改變。星期三，帕內塔在飛往布魯塞爾途中發表了有關評論。他對隨訪的記者說，希望能在2013年中期或後半年從作戰轉入訓練、顧問和協助。法國總統薩科齊本月早些時候宣佈，法國將在2013年從阿富汗撤出作戰部隊。這比原先的計劃早一年。