France sticking to early exit plan

WASHINGTON – In his first visit to the Oval Office, French President Francois Hollande declared he will withdraw all French combat troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, making clear to President Barack Obama that the timeline for ending the U.S.-led war will not trump a campaign pledge that helped Hollande gain his new job.

Obama nodded along Friday, knowing what was coming, but did not otherwise directly respond. Heading into a NATO summit on the course of the war and beyond, the White House has sought to emphasize that the war coalition will remain firm even as nations pull back. And Hollande assured Obama that France was not out to cut and run.

“We will continue to support Afghanistan in a different way. Our support will take a different format,” Hollande said.

France’s declaration has significance far beyond its borders. Hollande’s move means France, one of the top contributors of troops to the war, will be removing the combat forces a full two years before the timeline agreed to by allies in the coalition. That could shift more of the burden to those allies and give them reason to hasten their own exit.

Hollande later told reporters that some “residual” number of France’s current 3,300 troops will remain in Afghanistan after this year to provide training and to bring home equipment. But he alluded to the reaction that France’s fast-track withdrawal may get from its NATO allies when they gather in Chicago on Sunday and Monday.

“Our decision will be taken,” he said. “I can’t tell you that it will be applauded, but it will be taken.”

One high-ranking French diplomat told the AP that France had not gotten any serious pushback from American officials about Hollande’s early pullout plan other than that they did not want Paris to “proselytize” the quick pullout idea among other NATO allies in Afghanistan.

The United States and its allies plan to end the combat mission in Afghanistan at the end 2014. Afghanistan will move into the combat lead in 2013. The United States has about 90,000 troops in Afghanistan, far more than any partner nation, and is on pace to shrink that number to 68,000 by the end of September.

Obama and Hollande had never met, and their first interactions were closely watched given both the historic importance of the U.S.-France relationship and the crises of war and economic strife confronting both leaders.

The mild-mannered Hollande, who has little international experience, ousted the more brash Nicolas Sarkozy and was sworn into office just days ago.

Now in a hurry, Obama and Hollande will begin shaping a relationship that could prove one of the U.S. president’s most important should he win a second term. Beyond their White House talks, Obama and Hollande are meeting at the G-8 summit in Maryland before shifting to the NATO conference in Obama’s hometown.