Exclusive: Change at Kabul conference reflects US commander's belief Afghanistan is too weak to take control

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Plans to begin handing control of provinces in Afghanistan to Afghan security forces by the end of this year have been quietly dropped amid fears among European countries that General David Petraeus, the new US commander in the country, is less committed to a speedy transfer of power.

The change of tack, revealed in the final communique from today's historic international conference in Kabul, reflects Petraeus's concerns that security conditions in Afghanistan are too weak for a transition of power to begin as quickly as originally planned, a Nato official told the Guardian.

Although the conference agreed that the security needs of the entire country will have to be met by the Afghan army and police by 2014, major European troop contributors were looking forward to more rapid progress in the relatively stable north and west of the country, where Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and others have personnel.

The difficulties involved in any transition were highlighted today when an Afghan soldier killed two US civilians and one of his own comrades in Mazar-e-Sharif, one of the most stable cities of northern Afghanistan.

The incident marred the otherwise successful conclusion of an international conference on Afghanistan led by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

Beneath the diplomatic niceties, it became clear that plans first agreed by Nato ministers at a meeting in Estonia in April had been quietly dropped.

Nato had hoped that by the end of this year a cluster of neighbouring provinces in the north-west of the country would have begun the handover to the Afghan army and police force.

But in the final agreement of the conference, a reference to transition taking place on a "province-by-province" basis, which appeared in an earlier draft, had been removed.

A Nato official said the change reflected Petraeus's wish to slow the pace of the transfer of power.

European powers had wanted to announce which provinces would be handed over at a summit of foreign ministers in Lisbon in November.

The official said: "For Petraeus, Lisbon is not a problem. His main concern is the US political timetable, and being able by next summer to show progress that won't unravel."

According to the official, the slowing of the timetable sparked a heated exchange between Petraeus and Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's secretary general, during a video conference last week.

Speaking before this week's conference, a senior European diplomat said Petraeus's approach was far less welcome than that of his predecessor, Stanley McChrystal.

"Petraeus is trying to slow everything down, pushing back any announcement of transition until 2011," he said.

Although the speed with which foreign forces move from frontline combat to a purely supportive role may slow down under Petraeus, there was full agreement on the ambitious target that the entire country should be under Afghan control by 2014.

Despite the continued weakness of, and corruption within, the Afghan security forces, Karzai said he remained "determined" that they should be in full charge of Afghanistan's security by then.

World leaders are conscious that international public support for the nine-year long intervention in Afghanistan is rapidly waning.

Clinton acknowledged that doubts about the mission have never been higher. "Citizens of many nations represented here, including my own, wonder whether success is even possible – and if so, whether we all have the commitment to achieve it."

The meeting in Kabul was the first time such a conference had been held in Afghanistan. It was supposed to symbolise the growing ability of the Afghan government to manage more of its own affairs.

Ban said the conference marked the "beginning of a very fundamental transition" to Afghan control.

Karzai gave an optimistic speech arguing that the country had a viable future, in part because of its vast untapped mineral wealth.

Although he said the international community had pledged adequate funds for the next three years, he conceded resources should be focused on a limited number of national programmes.

Afghanistan has called for far more international aid to be given directly to the Afghan government, a proposal that has sparked fears that the money will be siphoned off by corrupt ministers. Karzai promised new measures on corruption that will see "the speedy prosecution of offenders".

Security around the conference has been extremely tight, with the capital coming under attack from at least five rockets on Monday night.

A police official said the country's intelligence service had arrested a number of insurgents who were hiding in a house in the city.