America's direct control of military operations in Afghanistan will dwindle to a single air base within days as the NATO alliance assumes a nationwide command that places 12,000 more U.S. troops under its authority, a spokesman for the alliance said Sunday. The expansion will consolidate military command under top NATO leader British Lt. Gen. David Richards and phase out the role of U.S. Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, whose troops will be transferred to NATO, said Mark Laity, an alliance spokesman in Kabul. Of 40,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, only 8,000 U.S. troops will function outside NATO control, Laity said. The overall level of American forces will remain around 20,000, the Associated Press reported. «In a few days, on a date yet to be declared, you will see the completion of the steady expansion of ISAF,» the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, Laity said.
