Afghan Talks to Seek Path to Security Handover, Reuters, 28 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Britain will host talks on Afghanistan on Jan. 28, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, just days before U.S. President Barack Obama sets out his expansion of the war effort next week. The international conference in London, to be followed by a meeting in Kabul, will address progressively handing security to Afghan control, Brown and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. That would, in theory, allow NATO countries to draw down their forces as public support wanes on both sides of the Atlantic for the costly eight-year-old war. The London and Kabul talks will 'outline the framework for an increased lead role for the Afghans in the shaping of their destiny,' Ban said. Brown said he saw the need 'to transfer at least five Afghan provinces to lead Afghan control by the end of 2010.' Despite talk of gradual troop cuts, the immediate focus for the United States, Britain and their allies is how best to fight a tenacious insurgency by Taliban and al Qaeda militants, including calls for tens of thousands more soldiers."

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Related articles:
, AFP, 29 January 2009
UN welcomes upcoming conference on Afghanistan, RIA Novosti, 29 January 2009
Brown announces timetable for Helmand handover to Afghan control, The Telegraph, 28 November 2009
, The Associated Press, 28 November 2009

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Helmand handover to begin next year, 12 November 2009
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