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                      US Envoy to Afghanistan to Step Down

   by VOA News

   Veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker, who serves as the United States
   Ambassador to Afghanistan, is stepping down from his post in the coming
   months, even as the United States and its NATO allies work their way
   out of the costly war.
   In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said Crocker was confirming
   "with regret" that he will leave as ambassador sometime mid-2012.
   Crocker left retirement last July to become the U.S. envoy.  He had
   reopened the embassy in the Afghan capital in January 2002.
   It was not immediately clear why Crocker is stepping down.
   The announcement comes day after President Barack Obama concluded a
   NATO summit in Chicago that reportedly closed with a clear road map for
   the alliance's role in Afghanistan.
   Obama said NATO members are unified behind a plan to wind down the war
   in Afghanistan and have the country take command of its security by
   2014.
   But the president said work remains, including finding a solution to
   problems with Afghanistan's neighbor Pakistan. The United States and
   Pakistan are making "diligent progress" in talks to reopen Pakistani
   borders to NATO supply convoys, said Obama.
   "I think ultimately everybody in the alliance - all of ISAF, and most
   importantly the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan - understand that
   neither country is going to have the kind of security, stability, and
   prosperity that it needs unless they can resolve some of these
   outstanding issues and join in common purpose with the international
   community in making sure these regions do not harbor extremists," he
   said.
   Obama spoke briefly with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on the
   sidelines of Monday's meetings.
   He also used the summit to thank other nations in the region for
   allowing expanded NATO shipments through their territory after Pakistan
   closed its borders to the convoys last November.  The closing followed
   U.S. airstrikes that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the
   Afghan border.
   The incident brought U.S.-Pakistani relations to a new low. But the two
   sides are now engaged in intense negotiations to finalize a deal to
   reopen the routes. Pakistan is seeking heavy taxes on future NATO
   convoys, a condition diplomatic sources say is hindering the talks.
   Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman, said Monday
   there is hope the talks will be "concluded constructively as soon as
   possible."
   "It's not just a question about the price mechanism," said Rehman.
   "They are looking at a larger framework for building a memorandum of
   understanding that is transparent."
   About 130,000 foreign troops remain in Afghanistan as part of the
   U.S.-led NATO coalition.
   Funding for Afghan security forces after 2014 could cost $4.1 billion a
   year, with the United States expected to cover a large portion of the
   bill.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-ambassador-to-afghanistan-to-step-
   down/919984.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-ambassador-to-afghanistan-to-step-down/919984.html