U.S. may shift to advisory role in Afghanistan sooner than expected

The Obama administration is considering an early shift in the U.S. military role in Afghanistan from primarily combat to mainly advisory and training duties, even as it struggles to create the beginnings of a political settlement of the war, a senior U.S. official said late Wednesday…

If the faster transition from combat to primarily advising Afghan forces is adopted it would mean a reduction in American combat duties sooner than the administration had planned. But it would not mean an early end to the war, which began in October 2001 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and became stalemated in the years before President Barack Obama took office.