US says Afghan handover in 2014 realistic
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's plans to assume responsibility for his country's security by 2014 is a realistic goal and one that NATO should endorse at a summit in Lisbon, US officials said on Monday.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military officer, both acknowledged a tough fight ahead but added they thought Karzai's target was attainable. "One of the agenda items of the Lisbon summit is to embrace President Karzai's goal of completing the transfer of security responsibility to Afghanistan by 2014," Gates told reporters during a visit to Australia. (Reuters)
