CHICAGO (Reuters) – NATO leaders sealed a landmark agreement on Monday to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year, putting the Western alliance on an “irreversible” path out of an unpopular, decade-long war.

A NATO summit in Chicago formally endorsed a U.S.-backed strategy that calls for a gradual exit of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014 but left major questions unanswered about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence after the allies are gone.

The two-day meeting of the 28-nation alliance marked a milestone in a war sparked by the September 11 attacks that has spanned three U.S. presidential terms and even outlasted al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

President Barack Obama and NATO partners sought to show their war-weary voters the end is in sight in Afghanistan – a conflict that has strained Western budgets as well as patience – while at the same time trying to reassure Afghans that they will not be abandoned.

A decision by France’s new President Francois Hollande to pull out French troops by the end of December – two years ahead of NATO’s timetable – has raised fears that other allies may also think about a rush to the exits.

“Our nations and the world have a vital interest in the success of this mission,” Obama told a summit session on Afghanistan. “I am confident … that we can advance that goal today and responsibly bring this war to an end.”

Alliance leaders, in a final communiqué, ratified plans for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force to hand over command of all combat missions to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013 and for the withdrawal of most of the 130,000 foreign troops by the end of 2014.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – NATO leaders sealed a landmark agreement on Monday to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year, putting the Western alliance on an “irreversible” path out of an unpopular, decade-long war.

A NATO summit in Chicago formally endorsed a U.S.-backed strategy that calls for a gradual exit of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014 but left major questions unanswered about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence after the allies are gone.

The two-day meeting of the 28-nation alliance marked a milestone in a war sparked by the September 11 attacks that has spanned three U.S. presidential terms and even outlasted al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

President Barack Obama and NATO partners sought to show their war-weary voters the end is in sight in Afghanistan – a conflict that has strained Western budgets as well as patience – while at the same time trying to reassure Afghans that they will not be abandoned.

A decision by France’s new President Francois Hollande to pull out French troops by the end of December – two years ahead of NATO’s timetable – has raised fears that other allies may also think about a rush to the exits.

“Our nations and the world have a vital interest in the success of this mission,” Obama told a summit session on Afghanistan. “I am confident … that we can advance that goal today and responsibly bring this war to an end.”

Alliance leaders, in a final communiqué, ratified plans for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force to hand over command of all combat missions to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013 and for the withdrawal of most of the 130,000 foreign troops by the end of 2014.

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – New French President Francois Hollande told President Barack Obama on Friday that he will stick by his pledge to withdraw France’s troops from Afghanistan at year’s end, a note of discord in an otherwise convivial first meeting between the two leaders.

“I reminded President Obama that I made a promise to the French people to the effect that our combat troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2012,” Hollande said after Oval Office talks with Obama.

“That being said, we will continue to support Afghanistan in a different way,” he said.

Hollande’s remarks, while not a surprise, underscore the challenge Obama faces in keeping NATO allies on board as he tries to chart a gradual course out of Afghanistan. The alliance agreed two years ago to a 2014 deadline for removing most of its combat troops.

The Afghan war will be the central topic when NATO leaders meet in Chicago, Obama’s home town, on Sunday and Monday.

The United States may seek at the NATO summit to nudge France to rethink its Afghanistan troop withdrawal timetable.

Hollande’s main foreign policy pledge is popular at home, even if French defense ministry officials believe it may prove technically complicated without putting troops in danger.

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Europe on Friday to shift toward a more pro-growth policy and away from austerity to tackle a crisis that threatens to push Greece out of the euro zone and send economic shockwaves worldwide.

Setting the tone for a weekend G8 summit, Obama made clear he was aligning himself with the new French president’s drive for more economic stimulus in the recession-plagued euro zone instead of emphasizing belt-tightening programs spearheaded by Germany.

Obama’s stance reflects his worries that the euro zone contagion, which threatens the future of the single currency, could hurt the fragile U.S. economic recovery and his own re-election chances in November.

After White House talks with French President Francois Hollande, Obama said the two agreed that tackling the euro-zone crisis was “an issue of extraordinary importance, not only to the people of Europe, but also to the world economy.”

“We’re looking forward to a fruitful discussion later this evening and tomorrow with the other G8 leaders about how we can manage a responsible approach to fiscal consolidation that is coupled with a strong growth agenda,” Obama told reporters.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has insisted on the need for tough fiscal discipline to bring down suffocating debt levels across the euro zone, could find herself increasingly alone at the summit at Camp David in Maryland.

When G8 leaders gather at the presidential retreat starting with a working dinner on Friday, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has been increasingly vocal in urging Europe to do more to resolve the debt crisis, will insist they must work together to stop it from spreading worldwide, an aide said.

BAGRAM AIRBASE, Afghanistan (Reuters) – President Barack Obama marked the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death with a speedy trip to Afghanistan, signing a strategic pact with Kabul on Wednesday and delivering an election-year message to Americans that the war is winding down.

Shortly after arriving under the cover of darkness, Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a strategic partnership agreement at the Afghan leader’s palace that sets out a long-term U.S. role in Afghanistan, including aid and advisers.

The deal may provide Afghans with reassurances that they will not be abandoned when most NATO combat troops leave in 2014. For Obama, it was an opportunity to draw a line under an unpopular war that was started by his predecessor.

“My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon,” Obama said in a televised address to the American people against the backdrop of armored vehicles and a U.S. flag.

“As we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it’s time to renew America,” he said. “This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end.”

Nearly 3,000 U.S. and NATO soldiers have died during the Afghanistan war since the Taliban rulers were ousted in 2001.

Obama visited with troops during his short stay in the country and emphasized bin Laden’s demise, an event that his re-election campaign has touted as one of his greatest achievements in office.

KABUL (Reuters) – President Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday to sign an agreement charting future relations with the country, making the secret trip on the first anniversary of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Obama plans to deliver a televised address to Americans later on Tuesday.

The U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement will set conditions for a U.S. presence there after a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of most NATO combat forces.

As he fights for his re-election, Obama is seeking to portray his foreign policy record as a success.

His re-election campaign has made bin Laden’s death a key part of that argument, and the president’s visit to the country where militants hatched the September 11, 2001 attacks will reinforce that message. It also opens him up to criticism from Republicans, who say Obama has politicized bin Laden’s death.

After leaving Washington under cover of darkness late on Monday and flying overnight, Obama arrived at Bagram Air Base before visiting Kabul.

He planned to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his palace and will later make remarks to troops at Bagram. From Bagram, he also plans to deliver formal remarks about the Afghanistan war at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT).

CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Sunday the Secret Service would fully investigate reports that agents assigned to protect him in Colombia were caught with prostitutes, saying he would be angry if the allegations proved true.

Obama, who spent three days in the South American country attending the Summit of the Americas, said he expected the agents and military personnel in his entourage to behave with “the utmost dignity and probity” while overseas.

“Obviously what’s been reported doesn’t match up with those standards,” he told a news conference in Cartagena, a Caribbean coastal city known for its beachfront and night life.

“If it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course I’ll be angry.”

The scandal embarrassed the U.S. government and overshadowed the summit hosted by its ally Colombia.

It also marred the previously sparkling reputation of the Secret Service, whose agents guard presidents and their families as well as top government officials and diplomatic missions in Washington.

A senior U.S. congressman said the scandal also raised the possibility that bad behavior has gone unnoticed before and he called on investigators to determine if there had been past transgressions.

CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said there would be more sanctions imposed on Iran if there is no breakthrough in nuclear talks with global powers in the coming months, responding to Israeli accusations that Tehran has been given a “freebie.”

At a news conference in Cartagena, Colombia, where he was attending the Summit of the Americas, Obama said negotiations between Iran and six world powers that resumed on Saturday would not stretch on indefinitely and would require Iran to act.

“We’re going to keep on seeing if we make progress. Now, the clocking is ticking and I’ve been very clear to Iran and to our negotiating partners that we’re not going to have these talks just drag out in a stalling process,” Obama said. “But so far at least we haven’t given away anything.”

Negotiators from Iran and six world powers met on Saturday for the first time in more than a year to discuss concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program, which Iran says is for energy and others fear is meant to build an atomic bomb.

The group, which included the United States and the other four permanent U.N. Security Council members Britain, France, China and Russia, plus Germany, agreed with Iran to reconvene in Baghdad on May 23.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced irritation that the next talks were in more than a month’s time, saying it was critical that Tehran stop enrichment right away.

“My initial impression is that Iran has been given a freebie. It’s got five weeks to continue enrichment without any limitation, any inhibition,” he said earlier on Sunday.

CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) – A senior White House aide said on Saturday that China had made some progress toward easing restrictions on its currency but stressed the United States wanted to see more actions taken.

At a briefing with reporters in Colombia, where President Barack Obama is attending a summit with Latin American leaders, White House adviser Ben Rhodes said the Obama administration was closely reviewing Beijing’s announcement that it was doubling the size of its yuan’s trading band against the dollar.

“It comes in the continuum of us wanting to see the Chinese take more of these steps to see their currency appreciate to come in line with market value,” Rhodes said. “They’ve made some progress. We’d like to see more movement.”

The People’s Bank of China said on Saturday it would allow the yuan to rise or fall 1 percent from a mid-point every day, effective Monday, compared to its previous 0.5 percent limit.

Currency experts said the move reflected a belief in Beijing that the currency is near its equilibrium level and that China’s economy, although cooling, is sturdy enough to handle long-promised structural reforms.

China’s currency is a sensitive topic in the United States, where many business leaders believe an undervalued yuan gives Chinese exports an unfair price advantage on global markets.

How to handle the issue with Beijing is a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign, where Obama is running against Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who is primed to capture the Republican nomination.

CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, taking his re-election campaign south of the U.S. border, promised on Saturday to pursue long-promised immigration reform early in a second term and slammed his White House rival Mitt Romney’s stance on the issue as “troublesome.”

Obama is spending the weekend in Cartagena, Colombia, meeting with Latin American political and business leaders in a bid to strengthen economic ties with the region and convince Hispanic voters back home he cares about the region.

But a scandal involving allegations of misconduct by Secret Service agents charged with protecting the president threatened to overshadow the trade themes Obama hoped to highlight at the Summit of the Americas.

The Secret Service confirmed agents had been recalled but offered no details. U.S. media have reported the alleged misconduct involved prostitution.

Obama did not address the incident in his remarks to a business forum on Saturday morning, focusing instead on the potential gains for American businesses from exporting to an increasingly stable and prosperous Latin America.

“The days when we could think of each of our economies in isolation, those days are over,” Obama said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the Secret Service incident had not been a distraction for Obama, but he added, “It has been much more of a distraction for the press.”