Obama hails NATO chief's tenure extension

US President Barack Obama welcomed the extension of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's tenure for one more year, the White House said on Wednesday. "President Obama welcomes the decision by all 28 NATO members to extend NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's tenure for an additional year, through 2014," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. The extension came as the military alliance was working toward ending its combat operations in Afghanistan and pulling out most troops by the end of 2014, as envisioned by the bloc's leaders when they met in Chicago in May. "Secretary General Rasmussen will lead the alliance to fulfill the commitments made at the Chicago summit hosted by President Obama last May, which include completing transition, ending the war, and defining NATO's long-term partnership with Afghanistan," Vietor said. The mandate of NATO secretary general is four years with a possible extension of one more year. Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, took office in August 2009.