The first is the management of the transition to Afghan control, which depends on an orderly withdrawal of American and NATO forces by 2014. The second is the election, also to be held in 2014, of a new Afghan president – a process that needs to permit the United States and its NATO allies to claim plausibly that they are handing the country over to a legitimate government.
随着大幕的落下，两件大事将在很大程度上影响撤军过程和最终的结果。首先是阿富汗控制权的交接，这取决于2014年前美国和北约军队的有序撤离。其次是选举，也将在2014年进行。这次选举将选出新的阿富汗总统——美国及其北约盟友需要这样一个程序来振振有词地宣布它们把阿富汗交给了一个合法的政府。