Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
The SpaceX mission
A privately owned unmanned rocket blasts off on a mission to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. Slideshow
Obama will not rush Afghan troop drawdown
Related Video
An Afghan villager walks during a patrol by U.S army soldiers from Task Force Denali 92 MP at Ghurki Kholah village in Paktya province, Afghanistan, December 11, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
OSLO |
OSLO (Reuters) - There will be no "precipitous drawdown" of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and U.S. troops could still be in the country for years to come, President Barack Obama said on Thursday.
Obama told Americans in a televised speech last week U.S. troops would begin withdrawing from Afghanistan on July 2011 as they transferred control to newly trained Afghan security forces.
Obama, in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, shied away from repeating the word "withdraw" and said July 2011 would signal a shift in the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, when "we are beginning to transfer responsibility to the Afghan people."
There has been debate in Washington over Obama's commitment to the July 2011 withdrawal date after administration officials testifying before the U.S. Congress suggested it was flexible.
"I have been unambiguous about this, so there should not be a debate. Starting in July 2011 we will begin that transition, that transfer of responsibility," Obama said.
He said the pace of the transfer of authority and "the slope of the drawdown" of troops would depend on conditions.
"It is very important to understand we are not going to see some sharp cliff, some precipitous drawdown," Obama said at a news conference.
Obama is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan to buy time to train Afghan security forces so they can take over control and pave the way for U.S. forces to withdraw.
"It is also important to understand that several years after U.S. combat troops have been drastically reduced in the region ... the Afghan government is still going to need support for those security forces.
"We are still going to have an interest in partnering with Afghans and Pakistanis and others in dealing with the remnants of terrorist activity," he said.
In an interview with the U.S. television program "60 Minutes," Obama said setting a deadline was necessary so the Afghan people understand the United States will not be responsible for their country's security forever.
"In the absence of a deadline, the message we are sending to the Afghans is, 'It's business as usual. This is an open-ended commitment,'" Obama said in an excerpt of the interview released on Thursday.
He said there were those in Afghanistan who would be happy with an arrangement "in which they carry no burden. In which we're paying for a military in Afghanistan that preserves their security and their prerogatives," he said.
"That's not what the American people signed up for when they went into Afghanistan in 2001. They signed up to go after al Qaeda."
(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Todd Eastham)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Nobel War Prize
I think its absolutely dynamite that Prez O. (sounding more like W.) has now joined the ranks of Arafat in earning a leash collar towards peaceful conduct but the plan of the Nobel commission, much like the plans of its founder, has backfired, as most loyal pups dont like leashes and will protest.
To neutralize the perceived puppy ownership this gold collar medallion has to offer O. (or is it W.) had to go the other extreme. He had to call it a Just war in lieu of Just a war, which it is, Just a War in the same lines the most decorated vet in history will say all wars are corporate wars.
This weeks superoil contracts just like those articulated here, as well as Shell makes you think of Dick Cheney in the War Room portrayed in the movie W. (Or is it O.), where he says America has energy needs and here is where to find it, and we will never leave. Yes O. Its Just A W.ar for O.il
A decade later the Spruce Goose has yet to lay a golden egg in Afghanistan. I can understand why it needs more time. Opium is the only thing it has overseen in production. I am currently taking bets that what Dick Cheney articulated in W is what will be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now. That is until the last lines from Daniel Day Lewis have been exercised: I Drink Your Milkshake – I Drink It All Up. Voila – behold the milkshake – December 2009 oil supercontracts, the biggest on earth. Until that day, when all the oil is gone, Agent Provocateurs, just like the two English chaps dressed in Arab costume will continue and seed and feed this war. Until that day the region will not be ready to manage itself, even though basic training is only about a year anywhere else on Gods Green earth.
The Nobel Prize is built upon the backbone of profit for destruction or is it destruction for profit. In its award to O. it has held respect to its foundation. Congratulations. Just A War for profit. And thats dynamite.
The war needs a song: Come on Sheeple Now Smile On Your Brother/ we got so much oil right now. I’m going to celebrate by going to Shell then to the American Red Cross.
Nobel War Prize
I think its absolutely dynamite that Prez O. (sounding more like W.) has now joined the ranks of Arafat in earning a leash collar towards peaceful conduct but the plan of the Nobel commission, much like the plans of its founder, has backfired, as most loyal pups dont like leashes and will protest.
To neutralize the perceived puppy ownership this gold collar medallion has to offer O. (or is it W.) had to go the other extreme. He had to call it a Just war in lieu of Just a war, which it is, Just a War in the same lines the most decorated vet in history will say all wars are corporate wars.
This weeks superoil contracts just like those articulated here, as well as Shell makes you think of Dick Cheney in the War Room portrayed in the movie W. (Or is it O.), where he says America has energy needs and here is where to find it, and we will never leave. Yes O. Its Just A W.ar for O.il
A decade later the Spruce Goose has yet to lay a golden egg in Afghanistan. I can understand why it needs more time. Opium is the only thing it has overseen in production. I am currently taking bets that what Dick Cheney articulated in W is what will be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now. That is until the last lines from Daniel Day Lewis have been exercised: I Drink Your Milkshake – I Drink It All Up. Voila – behold the milkshake – December 2009 oil supercontracts, the biggest on earth. Until that day, when all the oil is gone, Agent Provocateurs, just like the two English chaps dressed in Arab costume will continue and seed and feed this war. Until that day the region will not be ready to manage itself, even though basic training is only about a year anywhere else on Gods Green earth.
The Nobel Prize is built upon the backbone of profit for destruction or is it destruction for profit. In its award to O. it has held respect to its foundation. Congratulations. Just A War for profit. And thats dynamite.
The war needs a song: Come on Sheeple Now Smile On Your Brother/ we got so much oil right now. I’m going to celebrate by going to Shell then to the American Red Cross.
Follow Reuters