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After a decade in Afghanistan, NATO leaders gather for a key summitSunday hoping for a show of unity in the final two years of combat-- even though allies are eager to bring troops home. US President Barack Obama hosts two days of talks in Chicago, withtthe allies hoping to demonstrate a renewed commitment toAfghanistan as protesters threaten to flood the streets to denouncea war which has killed thousands of troops and civilians. Obama and his fellow leaders will take other key decisions forNATO's future, activating the first part of a missile shield forEurope and announcing a slew of military cooperation projects tocope with mounting austerity. Afghanistan however will be the centrepiece of a summit billed asthe biggest in NATO's history, with some 60 nations andinternational organisations invited, including Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai. "I look forward to meeting with President Karzai and my fellowleaders in Chicago to discuss these critical steps that willstrengthen Afghan sovereignty while responsibly winding down thewar," Obama said on Sunday. The US president said world leaders would discuss how to"effectively advance" the transition process, but the strategyfaces growing public impatience as well as French plans to speed upits own withdrawal. NATO is gradually handing control of security to Afghan forces,with the aim of giving them the lead nationwide next year anddrawing a path home for foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. An orderly withdrawal of the 130,000 US-led troops is vital forObama, who wants to show voters ahead of a tough November electionthat he can successfully end combat in Afghanistan afterwithdrawing from Iraq last year. But the new French president, Socialist Francois Hollande, is setto make waves during his first US trip since taking office onTuesday by telling allies that he will bring troops home by the endof 2012 instead of next year. "At this stage we're shuttling out of Afghanistan as fast as we canor even faster," Nick Witney, a defence expert at the EuropeanCouncil on Foreign Relations, told AFP. "And Afghanistan is facingan empty future." NATO leaders, he said, "will try to create the impression thateveryone's timetable fits the alliance pattern." Hollande is not the first leader to push for an early withdrawal. Canada and the Netherlands have already switched to trainingmissions while Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard indicatedthat her troops could leave next year, although her governmentlater said they would stay through 2014. But NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insists that thesummit will cement the alliance's mantra of "in together, outtogether." The mission has been plagued by other challenges, including growingcases of Afghan soldiers turning their guns on their NATO alliesand Afghan anger over civilian deaths caused by allianceoperations. After 2014, a number of foreign military trainers are expected tostay behind to ensure that Afghanistan's security forces are ableto prevent the resilient Taliban insurgency from forcing their wayback to power. Karzai gave withdrawal plans a boost this week, announcing thatmore than 300,000 Afghan forces were taking control of 11 moreprovinces, bringing 75 percent of the population under theirprotection. The leaders will debate the size and funding of the Afghan armyafter 2014, estimated to cost $4.1 billion a year, with the UnitedStates expected to foot half the bill while hoping theinternational community will pay the rest. Governments, however, are feeling the pinch as Europe's debt crisisforces budget cuts across the board. The United States, whichaccounts for 75 percent of NATO military spending, has pressedEuropeans to pull their own weight. To cope with the austerity, NATO will announce more than 20 jointprojects to pool military hardware as part of a "Smart Defence"initiative to ensure the alliance spends scarce resources wisely. NATO has touted a planned US-led missile shield for Europe as ashining example of military cooperation. A first step to the shield will be the announcement at the summitof an "interim capability" putting US warships armed with missileinterceptors in the Mediterranean, and a radar system based inTurkey under NATO command. The system has angered former Cold War foe Russia, which fears thatit would undermine its nuclear deterrent, and President VladimirPutin decided not to attended the talks. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Portable Electronic Calendar , Digital Thermometer Hygrometer, and more. For more , please visit Barbecue Digital Thermometer today!
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