A top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Thursday said he's concerned about the impending drawdown of U.S. forces there, saying if the Afghan forces cannot take over the security responsibilities, Taliban could again gain foothold in many parts of the country.
Lieutenant General David Rodriguez, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and deputy commander of U. S. Forces in Afghanistan, told a Washington conference that he is concerned that the drawdown is not aligned with the growth of Afghan Security Forces, Taliban could regain foothold.
Speaking via satellite link, Rodriguez said that the drawdown, envisioned by President Barack Obama to begin next month, would emphasize on pushing Afghan partners to take the lead. He said the U.S. forces would "thin out from bottom up," meaning foreign forces would first turn over day-to-day operations such as patrols to Afghans, while maintaining command centers and capabilities the Afghan side doesn't have, such as medical evacuation and some intelligence capabilities.
According to NATO plans, the international forces would transfer security responsibilities to Afghan side by 2014. Rodriguez said he expects a strategic security agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan to be in place by then, when the two countries could transition their relationship from a war-time and contingency-based one to normalcy.
Citing challenges facing the security environment in Afghanistan, Rodriguez said militants there have recently concentrated there efforts to conduct "sensational attacks," attacks on Afghan leadership and infiltrate the security forces. But he noted the death of Osama bin Laden didn't seem to have an impact on the battleground of Afghanistan.