| Date: 18/09/2012 Time: 10:37:00 PM |
The suspension of training for new Afghan
recruits in the wake of a growing number of insider attacks will not affect
the timeline for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, White House press
secretary Jay Carney said on Tuesday.
"We are working with Afghanistan to take measures to better protect our
troops," Carney said during a briefing.
US Marine Corps General John Allen, International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) commander, has directed all his operational commanders to review their
force protection and tactical activities in light of the current
circumstances, Carney said. As a result of that directive, ISAF directed a
change at the level at which advising and partnering takes place, Carney said.
"Most partnering and advising will now be at the battalion level and above,
" he added. "This does not mean that there will be no partnering below that
level. The need for that will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis."
More broadly, President Barack Obama's policy of gradually turning over
security lead to Afghan forces continues, "and that is part of a broader
strategy that will result in more American troops coming home, and Afghans
taking more and greater responsibility for the security of their nation,"
Carney said. "And that process continues."
"Part of this process obviously is training up Afghan security forces so
that they are in a position to capably take over responsibility for their own
security," he said. "That partnering continues, with the changes and
directives that I just talked about. But the transition that the President has
laid out will absolutely continue."
US military commanders "are keenly focused on security for our troops and
are taking steps that they believe are necessary to enhance that security and
to reduce the incidence of these so-called green-on-blue attacks," Carney
said. "For their specific views on how these measures will achieve that, I
would refer you to them." |