U.S. plans to halt Afghan combat role early By Rob Taylor and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - The United States appears to have taken Kabul by surprise by announcing plans to end its Afghan combat role earlier than expected, and coinciding with a secret report that the Taliban is confident it can grab back control of the ravaged country. A faster end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan could give President Barack Obama an election-year lift. It may also demoralize Afghans who fear a return to the austere rule of the Taliban and hope that reconciliation between all parties would deliver a better alternative. People like hotel waiter Yama, 19, expressed alarm at the prospect that U.S. troops will cease combat sooner. "Everything Afghanistan has built during the past years would be destroyed, robbed and sold to neighboring countries," he said. Many Afghans have long been suspicious of neighboring Pakistan's intentions, and would like to see it tame Afghan militant groups it is accused of supporting. Ties between the countries have been strained in recent months, but Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Thursday after her trip to Kabul a day earlier that "a lot of ill will had faded." She said Pakistan had played no substantial role in reconciliation efforts but would encourage insurgent groups like the Haqqani network and the Taliban to lay down their arms and pursue peace if asked by Afghanistan. "We would be able to do whatever we have, whatever tools we have, we would want to exploit to be able to assist the Afghan people," she told a small group of reporters in a briefing on her trip to Kabul this week. We are willing to do whatever the Afghans expect or want us to do. Pakistan has long been accused of using militant groups as proxies in Afghanistan to counter the influence of its rival India there, allegations it denies. Despite her enthusiasm over ties with Kabul, Khar cautioned the nascent peace process is far from producing breakthroughs. The United States believes Afghanistan cannot be pacified without strong cooperation with Pakistan. But ties have been damaged by a series of events including the unilateral U.S. raid that killed Osama bid Laden on Pakistani soil in May last year, and a NATO cross-border raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. Islamabad is currently reviewing ties with the United States and parliament is expected to soon make recommendations on a new direction for the relationship. Panetta's announcement immediately drew criticism from Obama's most likely opponent in this year's race for the White House, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Additional reporting by David Alexander in BRUSSELS; Writing by Jonathan Thatcher; and Michael Georgy