NATO forces in Afghanistan to move to support role "this spring"

 　　WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that the NATO forces in Afghanistan will move to a support role "this spring," advancing a shift that was originally set for this summer.

　　Addressing a joint¹ press conference with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai after talks at the White House, Obama took note of the ongoing² transition of lead security to the Afghan forces and the military advances made against the al-Qaida and the Taliban.

　　"Today we agreed that, as Afghan forces take the lead and as President Karzai announces the final phase of the transition, coalition³ forces will move to a support role this spring," Obama said.

　　"Starting this spring, our troops will have a different mission: training, advising, assisting Afghan forces," he added. "It will be a historic moment and another step toward full Afghan sovereignty."

　　As a result, the U.S. military will further reduce its presence in Afghanistan, which stands at some 66,000 now. In all, the NATO- led forces have some 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

　　At their summit in Chicago in May last year, NATO leaders agreed to shift to a support role in mid-2013 and withdraw most of their combat troops by the end of 2014.

　　In terms of the specific pace of the withdrawal⁴, Obama said. " In the coming months, I'll announce the next phase of our drawdown, a responsible drawdown that protects the gains our troops have made."

　　Karzai was pleased about the new arrangement, saying "I'm very happy to hear from the president, as we also discussed it earlier, that in spring this year, the Afghan forces will be fully⁵ responsible for providing security and protection to the Afghan people."

　　"The international forces, the American forces, will be no longer present in Afghan villages," he said. "The task will be that of the Afghan forces to provide for the Afghan people security and protection."

　　Right now, the United States and Afghanistan are still negotiating a security agreement on the level of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan in post-2014 period. The White House, concerned by the potentially huge human and financial costs it could entail⁶, is still weighing the size of the residual⁷ forces. The options reportedly range from as low as 3,000 to as many as 15, 000.

　　But Obama stressed at the press conference that any U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 must be at the "invitation" of the Afghan government and they must have legal immunity⁸.

　　"Nowhere do we have any kind of security agreement with a country without immunity for our troops," Obama said.

　　"From my perspective at least, it will not be possible for us to have any kind of U.S. troops presence post-2014 without assurances that our men and women who are operating there are in some way subject to the jurisdiction⁹ of another country," he added.

　　For his part, Karzai said that the number of U.S. troops staying beyond 2014 is for Washington to decide.

　　He also noted¹⁰ that with outstanding issues between the United States and Afghanistan being resolved, he can "go to the Afghan people and argue for immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan."

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

7 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

8 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

9 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。