Afghan forces are set to get more responsibility for security in Afghanistan in coming months, NATO and U.S. officials told The Washington Post.
Officials told the newspaper next week's NATO summit in Portugal would reveal the transition strategy for next year as several countries pull out combat troops and replace them with reduced numbers of soldiers in training roles.
This year, the United States, Canada and the Netherlands announced a reduction of combat troops as part of the mission that began in 2002 to roust the fundamentalist Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists.
The news came the same day Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the Post the presence of so many U.S. troops and their nighttime raid strategy was
wearing thin on citizens' nerves. Additionally, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said Sunday the United States has plans to begin gradual troop withdrawals in July that would take about four years to complete, the Associated Press of Pakistan said.
Meanwhile, officials said the original plan to keep at least some combat troops would be honored through 2014 as previously approved by the Afghan
president.
Under NATO policy, plans for a transition of power would have to be passed by the alliance's political strategy council and then by the Afghan
government itself, the report said.