NATO leaders will meet Sunday and Mondayin President Obama's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.Afghanistan will be the top issueat the meeting of the twenty-eight memberNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization.The United States last hosted NATO leadersin nineteen ninety-nine.That was two years before al-Qaidalaunched attacks on the United States.Those attacks led to the first use ofthe common defense provision ofthe North Atlantic Treaty of nineteen forty-nine.As a result, for more than ten years now,the coalition has directed its attention on Afghanistan.The United States and NATO have aboutone hundred thirty thousand troopsserving in the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.They plan to withdraw all of those troopsby the end of twenty-fourteen.The Afghan government is supposedto lead the country's security beginning next year.President Obama talked about the changewhen he flew to Kabul this monthto sign an agreement with the Afghan government.BARACK OBAMA: "International troops will continue to train, advise and assist the Afghansand fight alongside them, when needed.But we will shift into a support roleas Afghans step forward."President Obama is to meet this Sundaywith Afghan President Hamid Karzai.Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardarialso plans to attend the NATO summit.But President Obama's national security adviser,Tom Donilon, says there are no plansfor a private meeting with Mr. Obama.NATO has identified a support level offour billion dollars a year for Afghanistan.Stephen Flanagan of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies saysthe question is who will pay it.STEPHEN FLANAGAN: "Most allies have not met their pledgesto the existing NATO training missionin Afghanistan over the past four years,so their willingness to do so after the ISAF forces are withdrawn,when they are even more dependent on Afghan forcesfor their security, particularly given the incidentswe have seen of late, that is a key question."The United States has paid an increasing share ofthe costs of NATO operations.A year ago, Robert Gates,in his last major speech as defense secretary,criticized cuts in European defense spending.He warned of what he called "the very real possibilityof collective military irrelevance" for the alliance.The NATO summit will include France's new president.Francois Hollande was sworn in Tuesdayas the first Socialist president in almost twenty years.In Chicago, Mr. Hollande will have to defend plansfor an early French troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.He promised during his election campaign to remove troopsby the end of this year.Former president Nicolas Sarkozy had announced plansto remove them by the end of twenty-thirteen.Charles Kupchan is a NATO expertat the Council on Foreign Relations.He says the leaders in Chicago will once again discusshow to make sure European powerscarry their fair share of NATO's military work.Mr. Kupchan says the issue takeson a new importance for several reasons.CHARLES KUPCHAN: "One is that the United Statesis pivoting out of Europe,putting more emphasis on the Middle East and East Asia-- our footprint in Europe is going downto about thirty thousand troops.Number two, the U.S. is constrained fiscallyand its own defense budget is going down.And that makes the U.S. more sensitiveto what its partners in the NATO alliance are doing.And then you have the financial crisis in Europe"Experts say a good example of sharing responsibilitywas the intervention last year in the Libyan conflict.The Europeans took a leading military role.But they needed a lot of help.And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.