{"id":9399,"date":"2011-06-23T03:06:43","date_gmt":"2011-06-23T03:06:43","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-06-23T03:06:43","modified_gmt":"2011-06-23T03:06:43","slug":"US-to-withdraw-Afghan-surge-forces-by-summer-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=9399","title":{"rendered":"US to withdraw Afghan surge forces by summer 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Barack Obama ordered all 33,000 US surge troops home from Afghanistan by next summer<\/strong>, declared the beginning of the end of the war and vowed to turn to “nation building” at home.<\/p>\n

In a pivotal moment for US national security strategy, Obama also signaled in a 13-minute primetime speech last night (DID YOU WATCH?)<\/strong> that the United States would no longer try to build a “perfect” Afghanistan from a nation ravaged by generations of violence.<\/p>\n

“Tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding,” Obama said in the East Room of the White House in an address blanketing US television networks at a time of rising discontent on the war.<\/p>\n

“Even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible end,” Obama said.<\/p>\n

The president’s speech came as domestic political support fades for the war following the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by Navy SEALS<\/strong>, and as Washington backs fragile Afghan reconciliation talks with the Taliban.<\/p>\n

His decision on troop numbers amounted to a rejection of appeals from the Pentagon for a slower drawdown<\/strong> to safeguard gains against the Taliban and to allow a new counter-insurgency mission to unfold in eastern Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

The president said that he would, as promised, begin the US withdrawal this July and that 10,000 of the more than 30,000 troops<\/strong> he sent to war in an escalation of the conflict in 2009 would be home this year.<\/p>\n

A further 23,000 surge troops will be withdrawn by next summer<\/strong>, and more yet-to-be announced drawdowns will continue, until Afghan forces assume security responsibility in 2014.<\/p>\n

“This is the beginning — but not the end — of our effort to wind down this war,” Obama said.<\/p>\n

“We will have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we have made, while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government.”<\/p>\n

Though Obama said the tide of war was receding, there will still be more than 65,000 troops in Afghanistan<\/strong> when he asks Americans to give him a second term in November 2012.<\/p>\n

He said that documents seized from Osama’s compound in Pakistan showed that the Al-Qaeda organization was under “enormous strain.”<\/p>\n

“(Osama) Bin Laden expressed concern that Al-Qaeda has been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that have been killed<\/strong>, and that Al-Qaeda has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam — thereby draining more widespread support,” he said.<\/p>\n

Some of Obama’s fellow Democrats and some Republicans are demanding a faster US exit from Afghanistan, and questioning the huge $10 billion a month <\/strong>cost of the conflict at a time of deep fiscal pain.<\/p>\n

Obama argued the surge had made progress towards key objectives he laid down at the start of the escalation, namely<\/strong>: reversing Taliban momentum, disrupting and dismantling Al-Qaeda and building Afghan forces towards an eventual assumption of security duties.<\/p>\n

VIA AP<\/em>
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