US military transition

A major US newspaper reported this weekend that a contingent of US special forces troops would remain active in Afghanistan well beyond the planned 2014 withdrawal deadline.

"The United States' plan to wind down its combat role in Afghanistan a year earlier than expected relies on shifting responsibility to Special Operations forces that hunt insurgent leaders and train local troops," the New York Times wrote in an article, citing "senior Pentagon officials and military officers."

If approved by US President Barack Obama the transition would be "the most significant evolution in the military campaign since Mr. Obama sent in 32,000 more troops to wage an intensive and costly counterinsurgency effort," the paper added.

All NATO-led units are currently scheduled to have left the country by the end of 2014. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta caused a stir on Wednesday, however, when he proposed that the United States wind down the combat mission a year early.

Although NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen asserted this week that Panetta's proposal did not amount to an official change in strategy, he did voice hope that local forces take responsibility for security in the country in 2013. Foreign troops, meanwhile, would act as a backup until 2014.

According to the New York Times' report, the evolving plan would focus heavily on Army Special Forces troops, also known as Green Berets; with thousands of them remaining in Afghanistan after the majority of conventional troops had left. The elite troops would be used to "counter any residual terrorist threat" as well as to "devote the military's top trainers to the difficult task of preparing Afghan security forces," the report added.

ccp/msh (AFP, Reuters)