NATO to give combat role to Afghans

WASHINGTON -- Determined to show momentum in a war marred by setbacks, President Barack Obama and British Prime Minster David Cameron said for the first time yesterday that NATO forces would hand over the lead combat role to Afghanistan forces next year as the United States and its allies aim to get out by the end of 2014.

The announcement at the White House added clarity and urgency to the path of a war that has fallen into a demoralizing period, rocked by the burnings of Qurans at a U.S. base, deadly protests against Americans and a shooting rampage, alleged against a U.S. soldier, that left 16 Afghan civilians dead.

Yet Obama made clear those incidents, and intensifying political pressure surrounding them, will not lead him to bring American troops home sooner. He said he still plans to gradually withdraw forces through 2014 as Afghan forces take on more responsibility, cautioning no one should expect "any sudden, additional changes" in the pace of withdrawal.

The news that NATO forces would shift to a support role next year was a natural fit into the allies' timeline for ending the war by the end of 2014. In fact, it was Obama's defense secretary, Leon Panetta, who caused a stir more than two months ago by suggesting that NATO allies might shift from a combat role to an advisory role by mid-to-late 2013.

The White House announcement seals that direction more firmly, given the context of recent events and the political weight of coming straight from Obama and Cameron.

The two men lead the nations that have sent the most forces into the fight -- and whose electorates have long grown sick of the war.

"We've been there for 10 years, and people get weary," conceded Obama, who could pay a political price as the woes of war creep back into the election-year mindset.