Turkey takes over Kabul force

Turkish troops have been used by an Afghan leader once before

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, has taken over command from Britain of the 19-nation international peacekeeping force guarding the Afghan capital.

Turkish Gen. Hilmi Akin Zorlu accepted command of the more than 4,650-strong international force saying: "Turkey has willingly agreed to take over leadership with the aim of contributing to the peace and security that the Afghan people have long deserved."

"We shall do our best to enhance the peace and welfare of the people of Kabul (and to) treat everyone equally and fairly."

As the handover ceremony was taking place, the UK announced it would reduce by half the number of British troops hunting al Qaeda or Taliban forces in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries and serving as peacekeepers.

MORE STORIES UK pulls troops from Afghanistan     CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons on Thursday that all 1,700 members of the Royal Marines 45 Commando battle group would be withdrawn from early next month, and would not be replaced immediately.

Hoon also told Parliament the UK's contribution to the Kabul peacekeeping force would be reduced from about 1,300 to 400 troops.

This would mean the total number of British forces in Afghanistan and the surrounding region would be cut from more than 4,000 now to 2,000 soldiers by late summer. (Full story)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was among dignitaries who watched the handover at the Kabul headquarters of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF), as the peacekeepers are officially known.

A Turkish marching band in long red jackets played, followed by a British band in camouflage uniforms playing pipes and drums.

Speaking at the ceremony, Karzai welcomed the new commander, saying Afghanistan and Turkey had a long history of friendship and that "the Afghan people feel secure" with the Turks.

He also praised Gen. John McColl, the forces' outgoing British commander, who was greeted with applause that prompted Karzai to joke, "you could have been president of this country."

Speaking on BBC Radio, McColl said the force had achieved "a dramatic change in the nature of Kabul."

"When we arrived here the streets were really quite empty and there was a great deal of lawlessness. Now we have a situation where the city has come to life," McColl said.

"I don't claim that everything here is perfect, either in a security sense or in a political sense, but I do claim that it's moving in the right direction and I do claim that it has moved remarkably quickly in a very short space of time."

Turkey will command the 4,650-strong ISAF for six months, receiving backup on communications, airlifting of troops and finance from allies.

It is contributing 1,400 personnel, while McColl said Britain's deployment would be reduced to about 300 troops from the current 1,500.

The handover ceremony took place the day after Karzai was sworn in as head of a new government, which will rule the country until new elections in 18 months. (Full story)

Turkey has had close ties with Afghanistan since King Amanullah invited in the Turks during the 1920s to help his army, and Washington is keen to promote majority-Muslim Turkey as a secular, democratic role model for Afghanistan.

The United States is also eager to show that its war against terrorism has Muslim allies and is not a struggle between the West and Islam.

"The United States wanted a Muslim country and Turkey has close relations with Afghanistan," Mehmet Sayfettinerol of the Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies in Ankara told The Associated Press. "For the United States, Turkey was the logical choice."

At a news conference after the handover, Karzai said a key future role of the international force was to help train an Afghan national guard.

All armed forces should be under the central control of the Ministry of Defence, Karzai said.

"If there is any armed force that is separate, we will treat them as a renegade force," Karzai said. "We want warlordism to end in Afghanistan."

Turkey only agreed to take over the mission after winning U.S. assurances of financial and military support, including the use of heavy cargo planes, AP reported.