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FORWARD OPERATING BASE GAMBERI, Afghanistan Almost as soon as U.S. commanders begin a new support mission in Afghanistan on Jan.1, anchored by four training hubs, they will start a year-long sprint to make the most of their time advising Afghan forces before the hubs are shuttered 12 months later.

The United States faces a tight timeline between the start of the U.S.-led NATO mission in 2015 and hitting the first milestone in President Obamas plan for concluding the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan closing the regional training sites, narrowing the effort to the capital, Kabul, and halving the number of U.S. troops on the ground by Dec. 31, 2015.

By the time Obama leaves office in 2017, the U.S. military mission will end.

The race to take advantage of dwindling military resources reflects the high stakes of the administrations plan to briskly shrink its presence in Afghanistan despite local troops deficiencies and the likelihood that the Taliban will seek to exploit the NATO pullout.

Gen. John F. Campbell, who commands international forces in Afghanistan, said he will evaluate the progress of Afghan forces under NATO tutelage over the course of 2015 and assess the strength of the insurgents as he determines the pace at which he will reduce the NATO force from 12,900 in January 2015 to about 8,000 by years end.

In line with a withdrawal plan announced by Obama in May, the number of U.S. troops will fall from 10,800 to 5,500 in that period.

At 5,500 by the end of the year [2015], were going to go to Kabul-centric, Campbell told reporters in the capital Saturday. So what I have to work through is when do we make that decision to come back into Kabul.

In 2015, NATO and U.S. trainers will be arrayed across Afghanistan, in part at four training commands. The United States will lead the eastern and southern hubs, while Italy and Germany will lead those in the west and the north.

At the same time, foreign troops will advise Afghan security ministries and train local special forces out of smaller bases in and around Kabul.

The regional commands are set to close by the end of 2015, leaving a training force based at fewer than 10 sites in the Kabul area and near Bagram air base.

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In Afghanistan, a tight timeline for new U.S.-led support mission

Kabul, Afghanistan The US and NATO closed their combat command in Afghanistan on Monday, more than 13 years after invading the country in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks to target Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

Though quickly routing the Taliban-led government that sheltered the militants, the US-led coalition soon found itself spending billions of dollars rebuilding a country devastated by almost 30 years of war while an insurgency grew as the invasion and occupation of Iraq quickly took America's attention.

As NATO's International Security Assistance Force's Joint Command, which was in charge of combat operations, lowered its flag Monday and formally ended its deployment, resurgent Taliban militants launched yet another bloody attack in the country. And with US President Barack Obama allowing American troops to go after both Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country into next year, the fighting likely won't be over anytime soon.

"I don't think the war will slow or stop during the winter, as attacks on cities are not contingent on the weather," Afghan political analyst Wahid Muzhdah said. "I believe attacks in the cities will increase they attract media attention."

Monday's ceremony saw the NATO flag of the command folded and put away amid the foreign troop withdrawal. From Jan. 1, the coalition will maintain a force of 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak around 140,000 in 2011. As of Dec. 1, there were some 13, 300 NATO troops in the country.

US Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of NATO and US forces, said foreign troops now will focus on training and supporting local Afghan forces, which have led the fight against the Taliban insurgents since mid-2013.

"The Afghan security forces are capable," Campbell told The Associated Press. "They have to make some changes in the leadership which they're doing, and they have to hold people accountable."

But as local troops stepped up, they now face record-high casualty figures that have risen 6.5 percent this year, to 4,634 killed in action, compared to 4,350 in 2013. By comparison, some 3,500 foreign forces, including at least 2,210 American soldiers, have been killed since the war began in 2001.

President Obama recently allowed American forces to launch operations against both Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, broadening the mission of the US forces that will remain in the country. They also will be permitted to provide combat and air support as necessary, while Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also considers resuming controversial night raids that could see Americans take part.

Up to 10,800 US troops will remain in Afghanistan for the first three months of next year, 1,000 more than previously planned, said a NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss troop deployments. As a result, there will be little, if any, net drop in U.S. troop numbers between now and Dec. 31, when the international combat mission formally ends.

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US, NATO end combat command in Afghanistan

Sad times for Afghansand a nationwide poll proves it. A Gallup survey published Friday found that more than six out of 10 Afghans say they are suffering, a record high anywhere in the world since Gallup started asking people to evaluate their lives.

Three other findings are particularly striking: Among the Afghans polled, more believe theyre even worse off than they were last year. No one polled considered themselves to be thriving. And the perception of suffering was uniform across Afghan society.

In many countries, younger people give more positive life evaluations, particularly when rating their future lives. In Afghanistan, however, there are few differences in suffering by gender or age, Gallup reported.

The survey was released just as the United States and its NATO allies are winding down their combat mission after 13 years. The results indicate that Afghans feel they have gained less than they had hoped or expected from the costly international interventionand the United States longest war.

During his final trip to Afghanistan as defense secretary, Chuck Hagel was optimistic about the countrys future. As difficult, as challenging, as long as this has been, by any definition the country of Afghanistan, the people of Afghanistan, are far better off today than they were 13 years ago, if for no other reason than they have the opportunity to decide their own fate, their own way, on their terms, he told reporters traveling with him Saturday.

Theyre not completely there yet, but theyve come a long way and thats to the credit certainly of the United States, he said.

But the Gallup poll indicates that many Afghans do not share Mr. Hagels optimism. Its difficult to see how Afghans life evaluations could get much worse but the current combination of violence, drug addiction and intractable poverty makes it equally difficult to envision any improvement, at least over the short term, Gallup concluded.

In the meantime, rampant hopelessness among the population makes concerns about the growth and influence of extremist groups in Afghan society as real as ever.

Cultivation of poppiesfor heroin and opiumis higher than when the United States intervened to oust the Taliban after Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The United Nations reported last month that opium cultivation would hit a record high in 2014up 7% from 2013, despite U.S. eradication programs that have cost more than $7 billion since 2001. Addiction is high too.

Poverty is also still rampant. Sixty-seven percent of Afghans polled said that economic conditions were getting worse, with almost nine of out 10 dissatisfied with efforts to reduce poverty.

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Afghanistans Record Suffering

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