From the New York Times: NATO, criticized by the United States for not doing enough in Afghanistan, will start training the Afghan police in the coming weeks, the alliance’s new leader said.

The move by NATO, which said in April that it would take on such a role but did not provide details until now, is aimed at “transferring the lead responsibility for security to the Afghans themselves,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s new secretary general, said in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday. “The training mission is absolutely crucial.”

The effort is a major shift for NATO, which had kept clear of civilian training missions, fearing they would undermine its military role. NATO said it would also increase training of the Afghan National Army. (photo: Canadian Department of National Defence)