No accelerated withdrawal for the British unless…
(B2) 500 British soldiers are expected to return home this year, according to the MoD's provisional timetable. And 1500 will go home next year (2013). There is therefore no accelerated withdrawal of British troops before 2014. At the beginning of 2013, there should still be 9000 soldiers of Her Royal Majesty on the spot, mainly in the province of Helmand. It is only at the end of 2014 that the numbers will decrease significantly, leaving "only" 1500 men to supervise, train and support the Afghan army.
The exact date decided in Chicago... or Washington
According to the British command in Afghanistan, who held a "briefing" for our colleagues in London, it would also be "madness" to leave before the Afghan troops are in a position to take over. The ministers, who are speaking out during a session of their National Security Council, seem a priori on the same line, despite an increasingly skeptical public opinion.
The big withdrawal phase should take place, a priori, in September 2014. But that can still change: "the option we take will depend on the United States" admits a source from the Ministry of Defense to the daily "The Guardian". Everything depends on Obama. If the USA decides to reduce its workforce more quickly than expected, the departure of the British would also be possible for April 2014.
The Afghan Sandhurst
Who says withdrawal... does not say total withdrawal but only withdrawal of combat units. The direct combat role will be transferred to the Afghans, in part, in 2013; fully from mid-2014. The 1500 members of the British army will normally only be there to train and support the Afghan army. Defense Minister Philip Hammond was also on a visit to Kabul at the end of March, notably to sign a cooperation agreement with General Mohammad Karimi, chief of staff of the Afghan army. An agreement which aims to support the new Afghan officer training academy, nicknamed "Sandhurst in the sand" in reference to the famous British Royal Academy of Sandhurst, this school which trained General Karimi... It was in the years 1960. Still under construction, in Quarga, west of Kabul, three quarters of the foreign instructors should be British.
