Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Twitter
Yahoo!
TechnoratiObama announces beginning of the end of war in Afghanistan
US President Barack Obama has ordered 33 000 American troops out of Afghanistan by next summer. Of those, 10,000 will leave this year. Obama said U.S. forces had made large strides in Afghanistan by reversing the Taliban and Al-Qaeda momentum, and by training new Afghan forces.
“The tide of war is receding,” he said in a 13 minute televised prime time speech. “ Even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of secure peace can be seen in the distance.”
Although the Pentagon had appealed for a slower drawdown, Defense Secretary Robert Gates quickly said he supported the plan.
“It provides our commanders with enough resources, time and perhaps most importantly flexibility to bring the surge to a successful conclusion.”
Despite the troop withdrawals, there will still be more than 65 000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan when Obama seeks re-election in November 2012.
The announcement by the US president drew a mixed set of reactions.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the parital withdrawal was a natural result of progress on the ground.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the move alongside US allies Germany and France which said they would embark on similar withdrawals.
But Republican Senators John McCain criticised the president saying he was taking an “unnecessary risk”.
Obama also placed the Afghan mission in the context of his wider foreign policy and war strategy, arguing he has drawn down 100,000 troops from Iraq and will oversee a full withdrawal by the end of this year.
Comments
React to this article