Panetta assures NATO of action against insider attacks in Afghan

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta sought to reassure NATO allies on Wednesday that effective action was being taken to stop "insider" attacks on their soldiers that have undermined trust between coalition and Afghan forces.

Panetta also told a meeting of alliance defense ministers that the 11-year-old Afghan war had "reached a critical moment" after the pullout of 33,000 U.S. "surge" troops brought in two years ago to help counter a strengthening Taliban insurgency.

He said the coalition's response to attacks by Taliban insurgents disguised as Afghan policemen or soldiers and its efforts to improve its partnership with Afghan security forces would be critical to the success of the war with the Taliban.

Panetta and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the gathering in Brussels that there was no move to speed up the planned withdrawal of international forces in response to insider violence.

"We will support Afghan forces until they can take full responsibility for their country's security," Rasmussen said. "You will see drawdowns and redeployments of ISAF forces. This is not about speeding up. It is part of the plan. This is a careful, deliberate and coordinated process."

At least 52 members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force have been killed this year by Afghans wearing police or army uniforms, eroding confidence between the sides.

Insider attacks now account for one in every five combat deaths suffered by NATO-led forces in AfghanistaAfghanistan, and 16 percent of all American combat casualties, according to 2012 data.

"Whatever motivates these attacks, the enemy intends to use them to undermine mutual trust and cohesion, driving a wedge between us and our Afghan partners," Panetta said. "We can only deny the enemy its objective by countering these attacks with all of our strength."

He outlined steps the coalition and Afghan officials are taking to counter the attacks. They included enhanced training, better cultural awareness, continual review of partnering arrangements and expanded vetting of forces.

AFGHAN WAR AT "CRITICAL MOMENT"

"What tests us - what tests this alliance - is not the problem of insider attacks," he said. "What tests us is how we respond to them. Still deeper partnerships, still deeper integration, those are the responses that will frustrate the enemy's designs to capitalize on this problem."

Panetta said a decision to send 33,000 extra U.S. troops into Afghanistan nearly two years ago had made a "decisive difference," sharply reducing casualties and forcing Taliban insurgents farther away from population centers.

The United States completed the withdrawal of the so-called "surge" forces in September, leaving 68,000 U.S. troops plus their coalition partners to carry on the mission. The coalition has trained some 350,000 Afghan forces and plans to hand over full security control to Kabul by the end of 2014.

With the pullout of surge forces, "we've reached a critical moment for this alliance and for this war," Panetta said.

To build the skill and capacity of the Afghan army and police, the coalition must "ensure they have the embedded trainers and mentors needed to assist them as they take security lead," Panetta said.

He said the coalition faced a shortfall of 58 security assistance teams to advise the forces and urged the NATO allies to help fill the gap.

Panetta said the size and composition of the NATO force that would remain in Afghanistan after 2014 had not been decided but that its presence should be "steadfast and effective."

NATO defense ministers are expected to give military experts the go-ahead on Wednesday to start detailed planning for the post-2014 mission.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/panetta-assures-nato-action-against-insider-attacks-afghan-112305469.html

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