The Road to Withdrawal: Afghanistan Starts Transition

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 22, 2011 -- -- More than nine years after the United States overthrew the Taliban, Afghanistan's government said for the first time today it can secure parts of the country with its own security forces.

Calling the transition "irreversible," Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced Afghan forces would take over four major cities and almost all of three provinces beginning by July in a process that could last 18 months.

The declaration is a major milestone on the road toward withdrawing international troops and handing over security for all of Afghanistan by 2014. But in many ways the announcement is symbolic. The country has never been more violent, Afghan forces continue to struggle to become autonomous and most of the areas earmarked for transition have been safe for years.

Panjshir province, for example, has long been the most peaceful part of the country, and was never taken over by the Taliban even when they ran the government. In Bamiyan province, a small contingent of New Zealand troops face little fighting, and the area is safe enough for some foreigners to go skiing near the country's only national park. And in each of the locations announced today, Afghan forces have mostly been in charge already; as one U.S. official put it, "this isn't a flip of the switch. It's a process."

As Afghan forces take over in these areas, NATO forces could redeploy to other areas, go home, or transition to training roles.

"The people of Afghanistan no longer want the defense of their country in the hands of others," Karzai said to a graduating class of Afghanistan's equivalent of West Point. "Responsibility for security should be handed over to Afghans."

Perhaps the most challenging location to be transitioned is Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province -- still the most dangerous province in the country. The city of 300,000 is a sort of island within Helmand that has been secured mostly by Afghan forces since last summer, relatively safe compared to rural areas, where tens of thousands American and British troops fight constantly.