US announces plans to halt Afghan combat mission early
03 February, 2012
KABUL: The United States appears to have taken Kabul by surprise by announcing plans to end its Afghan combat role earlier than expected. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters on Wednesday that the US would stop combat operations before the end of 2013 as it winds down its longest war. "A decision to push this a year earlier throws out the whole transition plan. The transition has been planned against a timetable and this makes us rush all our preparations," a senior Afghan security official told Reuters on Thursday. "If the Americans withdraw from combat, it will certainly have an effect on our readiness and training, and on equipping the police force," the official said, adding that his government had not been informed of the change in plans. The United States, which led the NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, has previously said it would withdraw most combat troops by the end of 2014. Panetta said the US troops would shift next year to a supporting role, training and advising Afghan troops who would take charge of a country that has been at war for more than three decades. A faster end to US combat in Afghanistan may demoralise Afghans who fear a return to the austere rule of the Taliban and hope that reconciliation between all parties would deliver a better alternative. People like hotel waiter Yama, 19, expressed alarm at the prospect that US troops will cease combat sooner. "Everything Afghanistan has built during the past years would be destroyed, robbed and sold to neighbouring countries," he said. Panetta's announcement immediately drew criticism from US President Barack Obama's most likely opponent in this year's race for the White House, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. "Why (in) the world do you go to the people that you're fighting with and tell them the day you're pulling out your troops? It makes absolutely no sense," Romney told a rally. Panetta has also been criticised by some lawmakers for moving too swiftly to extract US troops. "Our goal is to complete all of that transition in 2013 and then hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013 we'll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise-and-assist role," Panetta said. End.
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