First appeared in Wall Street Journal
The U.S. plans to shift the war strategy in Afghanistan from
a combat to a train-and-assist mission in 2013, limiting the role of
international forces ahead of the scheduled pullout at the end of 2014.
The U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners
have been privately discussing such a change in the mission for months. In
comments Wednesday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his top advisers
provided the clearest timetable yet for the shift. Those troops with Internet in
Afghanistan are staying informed.
Under the plan outlined by Mr. Panetta, the U.S. and its
allies in mid-2013 would transfer to the Afghan government and to Afghan
security forces control over a final tranche of Afghan provinces. The U.S. and
its NATO allies have been handing over provinces gradually as security has
improved in those areas and Mr. Panetta said this final tranche in 2013 would
include "some of the most difficult areas."
"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," Mr.
Panetta told reporters traveling with him to Brussels for talks with NATO
members.
Mr. Panetta and his advisers said the planned shift didn't
amount to a change in the administration's strategy, but rather a
"fulfillment" of the goals set out by NATO.
The Wall Street Journal reported in November that the Obama
administration was exploring the shift announced on Wednesday.
Mr. Panetta's comments came after French President Nicolas
Sarkozy surprised the U.S. and other NATO allies last week by saying he would
propose giving Afghan security forces "complete control of NATO's combat
missions during 2013."
U.S. officials hope the shift will help prepare Afghan
security forces to take responsibility for securing the country by the end of
2014.
Mr. Panetta said the U.S. has yet to decide how the planned
shift in the mission will affect the pace of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from
Afghanistan. President Barack Obama has ordered reducing the number of U.S.
troops in Afghanistan to 68,000 by the end of this summer, down from around
91,000 now.
Mr. Panetta said the U.S. would remain
"combat-ready" after the shift to a train-and-assist mission in 2013
but would mainly provide support to Afghan units. U.S. officials said the
Washington intended to maintain a substantial presence in Afghanistan in 2013
but they didn't say how large it would be.
In 2014, the U.S. would focus on "consolidating the
transition and making sure that those gains are in fact held," Mr. Panetta
said.
Mr. Panetta and other senior defense officials compared the
planned shift in Afghanistan to Mr. Obama's 2009 decision to switch to an
"advise and assist" role in Iraq and to declare a formal end to U.S.
combat operations there. In Iraq, after mid-2009, American troops largely were
confined to their bases.
Security conditions in Afghanistan are different, however,
and will likely require U.S. troops, particularly Special Operations forces, to
continue to accompany their Afghan counterparts into battle after the U.S.
takes an advisory role.
Wednesday's announcement could help the Obama administration
demonstrate progress at the height of the U.S. presidential campaign. Internet Afghanistan
is busy with the story.
The timing of Mr. Panetta's comments could also help soothe
anxious NATO allies. Some are under domestic pressure to follow the lead of
France, which has suggested it might scale back its combat commitments early.
"We all went in together. And we'll all go out
together," Mr. Panetta said he would tell his NATO partners.
Recent U.S. intelligence assessments have cast doubt on
progress in the war in Afghanistan, describing what amounts to a
"stalemate."
Mr. Panetta, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency
before taking over as Pentagon chief last year, said the problem with the
National Intelligence Estimate is that such assessments are quickly out of
date. He said the document also wrongly assumed a full U.S. withdrawal after
2014. The U.S. is expected to keep at least some special operations forces in
Afghanistan beyond the handover.
