Obama announced to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan
Washington: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced to withdraw 34,000 American troops from war-torn Afghanistan in the next one year and showed confidence of ending a decade long war by the end of 2014.
“We are negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and counter-terrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al-Qaeda and their affiliates,” Obama said.
Saluting the troops and civilians, Obama said, “because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core ofal-Qaeda.”
Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women, he said.
Welcoming the decision, the Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said this outs the US on right path to succeed in Afghanistan.
This plan to continue drawing down US forces in a phased approach over the coming year was recommended by General John Allen – the former commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan– based on a thorough assessment of the ISAF campaign plan moving forward, he added.
“I believe the President’s decision puts us on the right path to succeed in Afghanistan,” he said.
