'Le Trap'

"...France's new defense minister is warning Afghanistan is "a trap" for allied troops.

Alain Juppe told Europe-1 radio Wednesday France wants to begin pulling its forces out of Afghanistan and will discuss the possibility of a more expansive drawdown of western troops at an upcoming NATO summit.Still, Juppe cautioned France will not withdraw its forces from any part of Afghanistan until the government there is ready to assume responsibility for security in those areas...

Earlier Wednesday, NATO's top civilian in Afghanistan said alliance forces may stay longer than planned, possibly leading some combat operations in the country beyond the 2014 target date for shifting authority to local troops. Speaking in Kabul, Mark Sedwill said the transition from international to Afghan control might last into 2015 or beyond. ..."