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| Obama Accelerates Transition of Security to Afghans | |
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| WASHINGTON – President Obama, after meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, said Friday that the United States would be able to accelerate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in coming months because of gains made by Afghan security forces. | WASHINGTON – President Obama, after meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, said Friday that the United States would be able to accelerate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in coming months because of gains made by Afghan security forces. |
| Mr. Obama also made it clear that he contemplated leaving relatively few troops in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends in 2014, saying that the mission will be focused on advising and supporting Afghan troops and targeting the remnants of Al Qaeda. | Mr. Obama also made it clear that he contemplated leaving relatively few troops in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends in 2014, saying that the mission will be focused on advising and supporting Afghan troops and targeting the remnants of Al Qaeda. |
| “That is a very limited mission, and it is not one that would require the same kind of footprint we’ve had over the last 10 years in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama said, standing next to Mr. Karzai at a joint news conference at the White House. | “That is a very limited mission, and it is not one that would require the same kind of footprint we’ve had over the last 10 years in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama said, standing next to Mr. Karzai at a joint news conference at the White House. |
| Mr. Karzai professed to be comfortable with that, saying it was up to the United States to decide the size of a residual force. “Numbers are not going to make a difference in the situation in Afghanistan,” he said, noting that it was the nature of the broader relationship that mattered. | Mr. Karzai professed to be comfortable with that, saying it was up to the United States to decide the size of a residual force. “Numbers are not going to make a difference in the situation in Afghanistan,” he said, noting that it was the nature of the broader relationship that mattered. |
| Addressing a major sticking point between the countries, Mr. Karzai said the United States had agreed to turn over control of the prisons that house terrorism suspects to Afghan control. That would happen, he said, “soon after” he returned to Kabul. | Addressing a major sticking point between the countries, Mr. Karzai said the United States had agreed to turn over control of the prisons that house terrorism suspects to Afghan control. That would happen, he said, “soon after” he returned to Kabul. |
| Mr. Obama said that in order to leave any troops behind, the United States would require guarantees of legal immunity for its soldiers – a demand that the administration failed to obtain from Iraq, leading Mr. Obama to withdraw all remaining American troops from that country in 2011. | Mr. Obama said that in order to leave any troops behind, the United States would require guarantees of legal immunity for its soldiers – a demand that the administration failed to obtain from Iraq, leading Mr. Obama to withdraw all remaining American troops from that country in 2011. |
| Mr. Karzai, citing the agreement to transfer detention centers and the planned withdrawal of American troops from Afghan villages, said he would push for such legal immunity. | Mr. Karzai, citing the agreement to transfer detention centers and the planned withdrawal of American troops from Afghan villages, said he would push for such legal immunity. |
| “With those issues resolved, as we did today, I can go to the Afghan people and argue for immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in a way that Afghan sovereignty will not be compromised, in a way that Afghan law will not be compromised.” | “With those issues resolved, as we did today, I can go to the Afghan people and argue for immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in a way that Afghan sovereignty will not be compromised, in a way that Afghan law will not be compromised.” |
| In a joint statement released before the news conference, Mr. Obama and Mr. Karzai extolled the progress made by the Afghan security forces, noting that Afghan troops now take the lead in providing security in 80 percent of the country – a number that will rise to 90 percent by spring, when American and NATO troops are scheduled to move to a purely advisory role. | In a joint statement released before the news conference, Mr. Obama and Mr. Karzai extolled the progress made by the Afghan security forces, noting that Afghan troops now take the lead in providing security in 80 percent of the country – a number that will rise to 90 percent by spring, when American and NATO troops are scheduled to move to a purely advisory role. |
| At that time, the statement said, American soldiers will pull out of patrols in villages, a measure that Mr. Karzai had sought. | At that time, the statement said, American soldiers will pull out of patrols in villages, a measure that Mr. Karzai had sought. |
| Both leaders declined to be drawn into a discussion of the specific number of troops who would be involved in either the coming drawdown or in the residual force that would remain in Afghanistan after 2014. Mr. Obama said he would make decisions in the coming months based on the recommendations of his military commanders. | Both leaders declined to be drawn into a discussion of the specific number of troops who would be involved in either the coming drawdown or in the residual force that would remain in Afghanistan after 2014. Mr. Obama said he would make decisions in the coming months based on the recommendations of his military commanders. |
| As the White House examines options for the size of a residual force, ranging from roughly 3,000 to 9,000 troops, Mr. Obama has directed his advisers to answer a basic question: Is such a force necessary to carry out the narrow counterterrorism objective and training mission the United States envisions for postwar Afghanistan? | As the White House examines options for the size of a residual force, ranging from roughly 3,000 to 9,000 troops, Mr. Obama has directed his advisers to answer a basic question: Is such a force necessary to carry out the narrow counterterrorism objective and training mission the United States envisions for postwar Afghanistan? |
| Mr. Karzai came to Friday’s meeting with far different expectations, according to Afghan officials. | Mr. Karzai came to Friday’s meeting with far different expectations, according to Afghan officials. |
| Although he has been careful not to discuss specific troop numbers in public, Mr. Karzai appears to be counting on a substantial residual American force — perhaps as many as 15,000 troops, whose mission would be to advise Afghan security forces in their fight against the Taliban insurgency and carry out raids against Al Qaeda. | Although he has been careful not to discuss specific troop numbers in public, Mr. Karzai appears to be counting on a substantial residual American force — perhaps as many as 15,000 troops, whose mission would be to advise Afghan security forces in their fight against the Taliban insurgency and carry out raids against Al Qaeda. |
| And he is hoping the United States will supply the Afghan Army with the latest military hardware, including tanks and fighter planes. | And he is hoping the United States will supply the Afghan Army with the latest military hardware, including tanks and fighter planes. |
| These very different expectations, analysts said, could reignite the tensions in a relationship between Mr. Obama and Mr. Karzai that has been notoriously fraught over issues like corruption, civilian casualties and threats to Afghan sovereignty. | These very different expectations, analysts said, could reignite the tensions in a relationship between Mr. Obama and Mr. Karzai that has been notoriously fraught over issues like corruption, civilian casualties and threats to Afghan sovereignty. |
| “There’s been a steady rollback of our objectives of what’s good enough in Afghanistan,” said Vali Nasr, a former senior State Department official who worked on Afghanistan and Pakistan and is the dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. | “There’s been a steady rollback of our objectives of what’s good enough in Afghanistan,” said Vali Nasr, a former senior State Department official who worked on Afghanistan and Pakistan and is the dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. |
| Michael R. Gordon and Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting. | Michael R. Gordon and Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting. |