Afghanistan could face 'eye-watering violence' after troops leave | World news | The Guardian: "Afghanistan could experience 'eye-watering' levels of violence after foreign combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan in four years' time, the Nato representative in Kabul warned today.
Mark Sedwill, the civilian counterpart to US commander General David Petraeus, also said that the target of handing over security responsibilities to the Afghan army and police by the end of 2014 might not be met.
The alliance's plan for the 'transition' of responsibilities from Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the still embryonic Afghan army and police will be high on the agenda at this week's Nato summit in Lisbon.
Many European countries that contribute troops see the plan as their ticket out of an unpopular war, but Sedwill warned that success was not guaranteed and the 2014 date was merely an 'inflection point' in a campaign that would continue for a long time. In some areas of the country transition could run 'to 2015 and beyond' he said."
