Troop withdrawal

International troops must avoid a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Saturday following a meeting in London with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Cameron advocated a staggered withdrawal based on domestic security conditions in a move seen as a slight rebuke to France, which a day earlier announced its intention to pull its soldiers out a year ahead of the international deadline in 2014.

"I don't want to see some sort of cliff edge in 2014 when all of the remaining troops come out at once," Cameron said during a joint press conference with the Afghan premier. "But clearly, between now and 2014, the rate at which we can reduce our troops will depend on the transition to Afghan control in the different parts of Afghanistan.

"And that should be the same for all of the members of NATO who are all contributing and helping to a strong, stable and peaceful Afghanistan, which is in all our interests," he added.

Shifting responsibility

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces followed the deaths a week earlier of four French servicemen, killed by a renegade Afghan solder they were training.

"We have decided, in agreement with President Karzai, to call on NATO to give some serious consideration to the Afghan army taking full charge of NATO combat missions in the course of 2013," Sarkozy said after meeting Karzai in Paris on Friday.

Sarkozy suggested, however, that some troops remain beyond that date to train members of the Afghan army. He pledged to raise the proposal at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels next week.

France has some 3,600 soldiers in the NATO-led international force, while Britain has around 9,500, several hundred of whom will be withdrawn this year. Made up mainly of American troops, the force has been steadily relinquishing responsibility since the alliance's last summit in Lisbon in 2010.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler