Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Today I am in Kabul. I’ve had the opportunity to see and assess
the progress we are making. That progress is indeed remarkable - more than half of the
population now lives in areas where Afghans are in charge of their own security.
We can see improvements on a daily basis in the Afghan forces’ ability to deal with
a challenging security situation. Earlier today I met some Afghan special forces
and observed their training. I was impressed by what I saw. These forces
represent Afghanistan’s best and bravest. Highly trained commandos like these are leading
more and more operations across the country. Today they number 11.000 commandos, and in
the past years they have carried out almost 4000 raids against insurgents alongside our
ISAF forces.
I had a constructive meeting with President Karzai to discuss the upcoming Summit in Chicago
and the way forward for Afghanistan. We agreed that substantial progress has been achieved
and that we will stick to our timetable to complete transition by the end of 2014. And
we agreed that NATO will remain committed to Afghanistan after 2014.
But we will still have a lot to do - and long term stability in Afghanistan requires more
than just military solutions. That's why the international Community has reaffirmed its
long term commitment to Afghanistan. We intend to stand shoulder to shoulder with
Afghanistan as it tackles challenges in the years to come.
Much needs to be done, and in five weeks, at our Summit in Chicago, we will take the
next steps towards Afghanistan's future. I look forward to what NATO and ISAF nations
– along with our Afghan partners – can accomplish together.