US President Barack Obama announced a phased pullout of troops to end a costly war in Afghanistan, but the country faced fresh turmoil after a court overturned results from last year's fraud-tainted election.
Obama's plan to withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of the year and a further 23,000 by the end of next summer won immediate support from France's president.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Washington's ally in an relationship made uneasy by allegations of incompetence and corruption, welcomed the plan and said Afghans increasingly trusted their security forces.
But the Afghan Taliban, resurgent a decade after being toppled from power following the September 11, 2001 attacks, dismissed the announcement and said only a full, immediate withdrawal of foreign forces could stop "pointless bloodshed."
They rejected any suggestion of US military gains.
In a prime-time televised appearance Wednesday, Obama said he would withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2011, with a further 23,000 by the end of next summer. Remaining troops would be steadily withdrawn after that.
He vowed that the United States -- struggling to restore its global image, shore up the economy and reduce unemployment at home -- would exercise new restraint with military power.
"Tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding," Obama said in a 15-minute statement, heralding the gradual reduction of US forces in Iraq and limited US involvement in the international air campaign against Libya.
"America, it is time to focus on nation building at home."
Obama's plan, which will bring home the entire "surge" force he sent to Afghanistan in 2010, pits him against military advisers unhappy at the prospect of any hasty drawdown.
The cuts went further than many expected, in particular options offered by General David Petraeus, outgoing commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, now due to lead the CIA.
Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates backed Obama's plan. But it is unlikely to sit well with the Pentagon's top brass who worry insurgents could regain lost territory.
Even after the withdrawal of 33,000 troops, about 70,000 will remain, about twice the number when Obama took office. Some US lawmakers, impatient with a war that costs more than $110 billion a year, said Obama should have cut deeper and faster.
Since the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the Obama administration has argued more forcefully that it must adopt a narrow, defensive approach to Afghanistan, focussing on lawless havens insurgents can use to launch attacks.
A senior military official in Pakistan, where Washington has been seeking intensified efforts against militants, said Obama's strategy would be successful if accompanied by "a robust and strong political effort" to engage the Taliban.
0 comments:
Post a Comment