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Afghan forces key to Gen. John Allen’s mission

Instead of trying to continue large U.S. counterinsurgency operations for as long as he can, Gen. John Allen, the supreme allied commander in Afghanistan, is accelerating a handover of responsibility to Afghan security forces.

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April 23, 2012

Gen. John R. Allen, the supreme allied commander in Afghanistan, center, talks to U.S. Army Capt. Michael Stewart, commander of Able Company of the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, which is part of the 172nd Infantry Brigade in Andar, Afghanistan. The unit was in the middle of a counter-Taliban operation in the Andar district of Ghazni province when Allen swooped in for a quick visit. The officers met in an adobe-walled housing compound.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran / The Washington Post

Newly graduated Afghan National Army soldiers wait for their orders to be delivered during a graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Center in Kabul. Gen. John Allen plans to order American and NATO troops to push Afghans into the lead across much of the country this summer, even in insurgent-ridden places that had not been candidates for an early transfer. “My instruction to my commanders is to get the [Afghans] into the fight,” Allen said in an interview. “The sooner I can get them there, while I still have the time and the combat power, the more I can catch them if they fall.”

May 3, 2012

Newly graduated Afghan National Army soldiers wait for their orders to be delivered during a graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Center in Kabul. Gen. John Allen plans to order American and NATO troops to push Afghans into the lead across much of the country this summer, even in insurgent-ridden places that had not been candidates for an early transfer. “My instruction to my commanders is to get the [Afghans] into the fight,” Allen said in an interview. “The sooner I can get them there, while I still have the time and the combat power, the more I can catch them if they fall.”

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

Gen. John Allen, shown working in his office in kabul, says: 'My instructions to my commanders is to get the [Afghans] into the fight. The sooner I can get them there...the more I can catch them if they fail.'

July 19, 2011

Gen. John Allen, shown working in his office in kabul, says: "My instructions to my commanders is to get the [Afghans] into the fight. The sooner I can get them there...the more I can catch them if they fail."

Charles Ommanney / GETTY IMAGES

Members of the Afghan National Army take part in a joint four-day mission with members of 2nd Platoon, Comanche Company, 1-501 IN (ABN) (Task Force Blue Geronimo) out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, in the mountains that overlook the border with Pakistan. The purpose of the mission was to survey the area for possible insurgent activity as well as to search surrounding villages for possible weapons caches. International forces are increasingly relying on Afghan forces such as the Afghan National Army in conducting village searches and biometrics intelligence-gathering operations.

March 31, 2012

Members of the Afghan National Army take part in a joint four-day mission with members of 2nd Platoon, Comanche Company, 1-501 IN (ABN) (Task Force Blue Geronimo) out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, in the mountains that overlook the border with Pakistan. The purpose of the mission was to survey the area for possible insurgent activity as well as to search surrounding villages for possible weapons caches. International forces are increasingly relying on Afghan forces such as the Afghan National Army in conducting village searches and biometrics intelligence-gathering operations.

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

Members of the Afghan National Army lead a weapons search at a village close to the border with Pakistan as part of a four-day joint mission with U.S. forces.

March 31, 2012

Members of the Afghan National Army lead a weapons search at a village close to the border with Pakistan as part of a four-day joint mission with U.S. forces.

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

Village elders in Khost province sit with members of the Afghan National Army and U.S. infantry soldiers to drink green tea after the ANA led a weapons search in this area, which lies close to the border with Pakistan. This was the conclusion of a four-day joint mission with U.S. forces.

March 31, 2012

Village elders in Khost province sit with members of the Afghan National Army and U.S. infantry soldiers to drink green tea after the ANA led a weapons search in this area, which lies close to the border with Pakistan. This was the conclusion of a four-day joint mission with U.S. forces.

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

Afghan security forces peek through a corner onto a building where suspected insurgents launched one of many gun battles in Kabul. Heavy weapons fire and rocket-propelled explosions could be heard across the Afghan capital. Several targets were hit by alleged insurgents in and around the Shahre Naw area and in the Shash Darak area of Kabul.

April 15, 2012

Afghan security forces peek through a corner onto a building where suspected insurgents launched one of many gun battles in Kabul. Heavy weapons fire and rocket-propelled explosions could be heard across the Afghan capital. Several targets were hit by alleged insurgents in and around the Shahre Naw area and in the Shash Darak area of Kabul.

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

Afghan and international forces carry a wounded member of the Afghan security forces during one of several gun battles in Kabul.

April 15, 2012

Afghan and international forces carry a wounded member of the Afghan security forces during one of several gun battles in Kabul.

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

Afghan National Army soldiers scope the mountains that overlook the border with Pakistan in Khost province.

March 31, 2012

Afghan National Army soldiers scope the mountains that overlook the border with Pakistan in Khost province.

Javier Manzano / For The Washington Post

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