The United States will be the largest single contributor to the follow-on NATO operation that will replace the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan in 2015 and beyond, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said after NATO Defense Ministers' meeting on Wednesday.
Describing the post-2014 mission in Afghanistan at a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Hagel said that the Defense Ministers' meeting brought some clarity to the "Resolute Support" operation NATO will launch to train, advise and assist Afghan forces after those forces have assumed full security responsibility by the end of 2014.
Hagel addressed reporters after NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Resolute Support would be a much smaller mission with five regional components: one each in Afghanistan's east, west, north and south, and the fifth in the capital Kabul. He explained that the train, advise and assist mission will put trainers at the national level, such as the Ministries of Defense and Interior, and at the corps level of the Afghan army and police forces.
Hagel said the U.S. role would be as the overall framework nation, with geographic responsibility in the east and south, the areas of strongest insurgent resistance to the Afghan government.
"We appreciate the commitments other nations are making, including the announcements by Germany and Italy that they will serve as lead nations for the west and the north," the Secretary said. "Turkey has also indicated they are favorably considering serving as the framework nation in Kabul."
Hagel said U.S. support would include "new, expert, professional assistance to the [Afghan] army in the area of contracting and fuel support, not just soldiers." He made it clear that "we intend to be there for the long haul, and I made that commitment very clear today."
Hagel also discussed NATO nations' defense spending in an era when growing security challenges strongly signal the need to invest in new capabilities. He said the Ministers discussed how to plan such investment in the face of widespread budget constraints among Alliance members.
Hagel noted that his own department is studying ways to cut spending, but assured his NATO counterparts that the United States is "not considering any reductions that will affect NATO's ability to fulfill its core tasks of collective defense, crisis management and cooperative security."
The U.S. commitment to NATO remains ironclad, the Secretary said. "Still, overdependence on any one country for critical capabilities brings with it risks," he said. "And as European defense investment continues to decline, the Alliance's dependence on the United States is growing."
Hagel said he told his fellow Ministers that to justify U.S. investment in the alliance to the American people, "we must be able to demonstrate that our NATO partners are willing to share in this burden."
Hagel met with his Afghan counterpart Bismillah Khan Mohammadi prior to the Defense Ministers' session with non-NATO ISAF Contributing Nations.
"Mohammadi provided his assessment of Afghan National Security Forces operations throughout the country and Secretary Hagel commended their progress," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a statement.
He said "Hagel expressed his deep respect for the tremendous sacrifices Afghan security forces are making in defense of their nation. The Ministers discussed planning for upcoming transfer to full Afghan security lead."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Political News