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President Obama prepares for US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan | abc7.com
KABUL, Afghanistan (KABC) -- President Barack Obama is gearing up to make an announcement on the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Reports say the president will likely announce sometime in June how many troops will start coming home. Roughly 100,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. American forces are expected to remain there through 2014.
However in an interview Monday night, the president said with respect to Afghanistan that it was, "time to recognize that we've accomplished a big chunk of our mission."
Meantime, the United Nations said Tuesday it is considering creating separate terrorism blacklists for al Qaeda and the Taliban, a political gesture that could spur possible Afghan peace talks.
The U.S. and Afghan governments have said that they are willing to reconcile with Taliban members who renounce violence, embrace the Afghan constitution and sever ties with al Qaeda. Making two separate lists would symbolically delink the Taliban from al Qaeda, recognizing their different agendas.
Al Qaeda is focused on worldwide jihad against the West and establishment of a religious state in the Muslim world, while Afghan Taliban militants have focused on their own country and have shown little interest in attacking targets outside Afghanistan.
Some nations, however, are still undecided about whether to embrace the idea of splitting the list. All committee members must vote in favor for it to be approved. It's unclear, for instance, whether it will be approved by Russia, which has expressed reluctance in the past to approve requests to delist Taliban members.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been making peace overtures to members of the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan for five years and sheltered al Qaeda before being driven out of power in the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. The Taliban have long demanded removal from the sanctions list to help promote reconciliation.
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The current U.N. sanctions list for both al Qaeda and the Taliban includes about 450 people, entities and organizations, including roughly 140 with links to the Taliban.
The Afghan government already has asked a U.N. panel to take about 50 Taliban figures off the sanctions list, which keeps them subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. The committee will rule on many of these requests next week.
Meanwhile, authorities said insurgents kidnapped and killed an Afghan provincial council chief from one of seven areas NATO plans to hand over to Afghan security forces in July. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said last month that plans to transfer control remained on course, despite recent bombings and assaults by insurgents in the areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
Obama may speed withdrawal from Afghanistan
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By: Brian Hughes 06/06/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer Follow Him @BrianHughes_
President Barack Obama walks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following their dinner at 1789 restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, Monday, June, 6, 2011. Obama met Monday with his national security team to discuss the pace of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
The White House on Monday insisted that there would be a "real drawdown" of U.S. forces from Afghanistan starting next month, though President Obama has not decided how many troops would be withdrawn or how quickly. Obama met Monday with his national security team to discuss the pace of the withdrawal given that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed and the decade-long war continues to drag on at a cost of about $2 billion a week.
The president already faces dwindling public support for the conflict and congressional pressure for a swifter withdrawal of troops following bin Laden's death. Given the shifting situation on the ground, Obama's own advisers are divided on how quickly troops should be withdrawn.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military commanders are pushing for a modest drawdown of forces next month. They are concerned that withdrawing too rapidly would undermine the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan that took years to showcase gains.
Others, including Vice President Joe Biden, advocate for a swift withdrawal of troops.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sought to downplay the schism inside the administration, saying the drawdown debate was about the numbers of troops, "not policy," and that the president would stand by his campaign pledge to reduce the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
"The president has yet to make a decision on the numbers," Carney said. "It will be a real drawdown, but it will be dependent on conditions on the ground. The policy decision has been made. This is a step along the way of implementing that policy."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday also dismissed talk of dissension among Obama's advisers.
"There have been no decisions made," she said.
Obama is awaiting recommendations from his military commanders, Carney said, but he declined to offer further details of the internal discussions. Obama is expected to deliver a major address on his Afghanistan policy later this month, administration officials said.
The president pledged to initiate a withdrawal of troops this year after he dispatched 30,000 more to Afghanistan in December 2009. All troops would be removed by 2014, he said.
"I intend to follow through on that commitment that I made to the American people," Obama said Monday in an interview with Hearst Television.
Under Obama's watch, the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has tripled to 100,000. Officials previously anticipated a withdrawal of 3,000 to 5,000 troops in July.
Though most voters are focused on the economy, the decision on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan could have political implications for Obama. Nearly 60 percent of the American public now opposes the war, according to a recent Associated Press poll.
If Obama fails to deliver a significant withdrawal, he risks alienating his liberal base, which has long been clamoring to end the military action in a country that appears years -- if not decades -- away from a stable government.
bhughes@washingtonexaminer.com
Read more at the Washington Examiner: Obama may speed withdrawal from Afghanistan | Brian Hughes | Politics | Washington Examiner
KABUL, Afghanistan (KABC) -- President Barack Obama is gearing up to make an announcement on the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Reports say the president will likely announce sometime in June how many troops will start coming home. Roughly 100,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. American forces are expected to remain there through 2014.
However in an interview Monday night, the president said with respect to Afghanistan that it was, "time to recognize that we've accomplished a big chunk of our mission."
Meantime, the United Nations said Tuesday it is considering creating separate terrorism blacklists for al Qaeda and the Taliban, a political gesture that could spur possible Afghan peace talks.
The U.S. and Afghan governments have said that they are willing to reconcile with Taliban members who renounce violence, embrace the Afghan constitution and sever ties with al Qaeda. Making two separate lists would symbolically delink the Taliban from al Qaeda, recognizing their different agendas.
Al Qaeda is focused on worldwide jihad against the West and establishment of a religious state in the Muslim world, while Afghan Taliban militants have focused on their own country and have shown little interest in attacking targets outside Afghanistan.
Some nations, however, are still undecided about whether to embrace the idea of splitting the list. All committee members must vote in favor for it to be approved. It's unclear, for instance, whether it will be approved by Russia, which has expressed reluctance in the past to approve requests to delist Taliban members.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been making peace overtures to members of the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan for five years and sheltered al Qaeda before being driven out of power in the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. The Taliban have long demanded removal from the sanctions list to help promote reconciliation.
Related Content
Story: Robert Gates continues Afghan farewell tour
Story: Afghan President Karzai bans NATO airstrikes
Story: 4 NATO service members killed in Afghanistan
The current U.N. sanctions list for both al Qaeda and the Taliban includes about 450 people, entities and organizations, including roughly 140 with links to the Taliban.
The Afghan government already has asked a U.N. panel to take about 50 Taliban figures off the sanctions list, which keeps them subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. The committee will rule on many of these requests next week.
Meanwhile, authorities said insurgents kidnapped and killed an Afghan provincial council chief from one of seven areas NATO plans to hand over to Afghan security forces in July. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said last month that plans to transfer control remained on course, despite recent bombings and assaults by insurgents in the areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
Obama may speed withdrawal from Afghanistan
Share Print By: Brian Hughes 06/06/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer Follow Him @BrianHughes_
President Barack Obama walks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following their dinner at 1789 restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, Monday, June, 6, 2011. Obama met Monday with his national security team to discuss the pace of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
The White House on Monday insisted that there would be a "real drawdown" of U.S. forces from Afghanistan starting next month, though President Obama has not decided how many troops would be withdrawn or how quickly. Obama met Monday with his national security team to discuss the pace of the withdrawal given that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed and the decade-long war continues to drag on at a cost of about $2 billion a week.
The president already faces dwindling public support for the conflict and congressional pressure for a swifter withdrawal of troops following bin Laden's death. Given the shifting situation on the ground, Obama's own advisers are divided on how quickly troops should be withdrawn.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military commanders are pushing for a modest drawdown of forces next month. They are concerned that withdrawing too rapidly would undermine the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan that took years to showcase gains.
Others, including Vice President Joe Biden, advocate for a swift withdrawal of troops.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sought to downplay the schism inside the administration, saying the drawdown debate was about the numbers of troops, "not policy," and that the president would stand by his campaign pledge to reduce the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
"The president has yet to make a decision on the numbers," Carney said. "It will be a real drawdown, but it will be dependent on conditions on the ground. The policy decision has been made. This is a step along the way of implementing that policy."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday also dismissed talk of dissension among Obama's advisers.
"There have been no decisions made," she said.
Obama is awaiting recommendations from his military commanders, Carney said, but he declined to offer further details of the internal discussions. Obama is expected to deliver a major address on his Afghanistan policy later this month, administration officials said.
The president pledged to initiate a withdrawal of troops this year after he dispatched 30,000 more to Afghanistan in December 2009. All troops would be removed by 2014, he said.
"I intend to follow through on that commitment that I made to the American people," Obama said Monday in an interview with Hearst Television.
Under Obama's watch, the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has tripled to 100,000. Officials previously anticipated a withdrawal of 3,000 to 5,000 troops in July.
Though most voters are focused on the economy, the decision on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan could have political implications for Obama. Nearly 60 percent of the American public now opposes the war, according to a recent Associated Press poll.
If Obama fails to deliver a significant withdrawal, he risks alienating his liberal base, which has long been clamoring to end the military action in a country that appears years -- if not decades -- away from a stable government.
bhughes@washingtonexaminer.com
Read more at the Washington Examiner: Obama may speed withdrawal from Afghanistan | Brian Hughes | Politics | Washington Examiner
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