NEWS FLASH

Panetta Says U.S. Will Shift Afghan Mission To Training In 2013 | Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said today that the U.S. and its allies will shift from combat to a training and advisory role in Afghanistan sometime in the latter half of 2013. He added that U.S. combat troops will still remain in the country through 2014. “Our goal is to complete all of that transition in 2013, and hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013 we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role,” Panetta said. Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in December that he was planning the shift.