It also serves to possibly bridge an apparent gap between France and the rest of the NATO partners of the U.S. on defining the end game in Afghanistan.
All NATO members in November 2010 endorsed a plan to keep forces in Afghanistan until the end of 2014. But France this week appeared to throw that plan into doubt when President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his side and seemingly in agreement, that NATO end its mission in 2013 — one year earlier than planned.
Sarkozy also said, however, that France would provide support for the training of Afghan forces beyond 2013, so his approach might not be entirely different from the one Panetta outlined in which allied troops shed their combat role in the second half of 2013 but remain through 2014 to train, advise and assist.
Panetta said he hoped to hear more from the French delegation at the NATO talks Thursday and Friday.
Panetta called 2013 a critical year for the Afghanistan mission that has dragged on for more than a decade with little sign that the Taliban will be decisively defeated. He noted that NATO and the Afghan government intend to begin a final phase of handing off sections of the country to Afghan security control in mid-2013.
“Hopefully by the mid to latter part of 2013 we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role,’’ he said. He added that this “doesn’t mean we’re not going to be combat-ready,’’ but rather that the U.S. and other international forces will no longer be in “the formal combat role we’re in now.’’
Panetta said the administration wants to make sure that the Afghan forces, after foreign troops depart, are “sufficient and sustainable,’’ but noted that will require continuing financial support not only from the United States but also from allies and many other countries.
