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International talks mull exit from Afghanistan

Major world powers opened talks on Thursday seeking an end to the grinding conflict in Afghanistan, drafting plans to hand over security responsibilities to local forces and quell the insurgency with an offer of jobs and housing to lure Taliban fighters to renounce violence.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai greeted delegates from about 70 nations and institutions in London, seeking to win new international support after more than eight years of combat which is threatening to exhaust public good will in the West.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen also joined talks aimed at setting targets to transfer security control of several Afghan provinces to the local police and military by the end of 2010.

“This is a decisive time for the international cooperation that is helping the Afghan people secure and govern their own country,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, opening the one-day talks. “This conference marks the beginning of the transition process.”

Mr. Brown said the conference would set a target for Afghanistan to increase its military to 171,600 by October 2011, and boost police numbers to 134,00 by the same date. “By the middle of next year we have to turn the tide,” he said.

Mr. Karzai envisages Afghanistan’s government taking control of security in all 34 provinces by 2015, but said he expects foreign troops to stay in his country for up to a decade.

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