France’s President Francois Hollande used his White House debut on May 17 to restate his intention to get French combat troops home from Afghanistan this year – breaking with NATO’s 2014 schedule. Hollande met President Barack Obama for the first time since taking office three days ago, ahead of a testing weekend of international summits, with G8 leaders at Camp David and NATO chiefs at a 61-nation gathering in Chicago. “I recalled to President Obama that I had made a promise to withdraw our combat troops from Afghanistan at the end of 2012,” Hollande said, as the two leaders spoke to reporters in the Oval Office.
Obama did not dispute Hollande’s position, but stressed that NATO states must sustain their commitment to help “Afghans build security and continue down the path of development.” Washington is currently soliciting funding from its allies to ensure training and financing for Afghan armed forces after NATO combat troops leave – which it estimates could cost around $4 billion a year.