Germany to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 2011

Germany aims to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan at the end of 2011, a decade after the start of the war, a government report showed on Monday. Nato leaders agreed at a summit in Lisbon last month to begin transferring security responsibility in some areas to Afghans from mid-2011, and hand over control of the whole country by the end of 2014, allowing foreign troops to leave.
"In the process of handing over responsibility for security, the government intends to reduce some capacities that are no longer needed by the end of 2011, beginning of 2012 - as long as the situation allows this," the report by the four relevant ministries read.