Obama, NATO's Rasmussen to discuss ending Afghan war

President Obama will discuss winding down the Afghanistan war with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen when the two meet Friday, the White House said. Obama plans to meet with Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, in the Oval Office at 10:50 a.m. EDT, the White House said Thursday evening. "The secretary-general's visit underscores the vital importance the United States places on the North Atlantic Alliance and our relationship with Europe, and our common commitment to tackle challenges from Afghanistan to the Balkans to the Indian Ocean together," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. "The president looks forward to discussing global and regional security concerns with the secretary-general, to include ending the war in Afghanistan while building an enduring partnership with the Afghan government; sustaining and improving allied defense capabilities and trans-Atlantic burden sharing; and further enhancing NATO's network of capable partners," Carney's statement said. Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed in January to accelerate the handover of combat operations to Afghan forces from NATO by this spring, rather than summer. NATO troops are expected to focus on training, advising and assisting their Afghan counterparts, but also to fight alongside them when needed, Obama told reporters in a joint news conference with Karzai Jan. 11. "What's going to happen this spring is that Afghans will be in the lead throughout the country," Obama said. "That doesn't mean that coalition forces, including U.S. forces, are no longer fighting," Obama said. "They will still be fighting alongside Afghan troops. It does mean, though, that Afghans will have taken the lead, and our presence, the nature of our work, will be different. We will be in a training, assisting, advising role." Obama said he would determine the pace of the U.S. combat-troop drawdown and withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 after consulting with commanders in Afghanistan. Obama has not publicly discussed the specific numbers of troops that may be left, but he described the post-2014 mission as "very limited" and focused on training and counter-terrorism missions. The war, which began Oct. 7, 2001, has been an intervention in the Afghan civil war by Washington and NATO allies following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Its stated purpose has been to dismantle al-Qaida Islamist terrorist organization and remove the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist regime from power.