Obama to visit Fort Drum after announcing Afghan troop withdrawal
Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama goes on the road Thursday to sell his plan to withdraw 33,000 U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
He will meet with soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York -- many of whom have recently returned from Afghan deployments.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to testify before Congress Thursday, and said Wednesday she would have more to say about American involvement in Afghanistan.
"We are working to increase our diplomatic and political efforts" in the region "to look for a resolution of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan," she said on a trip to Jamaica.
Responding to a question about whether Afghans consider the Americans to be "occupiers," Clinton said: "We understand the frustration that is expressed by Afghans, including the president of Afghanistan about how difficult this is. On the other hand, we＇re there in Afghanistan because we think it＇s in the vital national security interests of the United States."
France announced on Thursday that it would also begin to reduce troop numbers, saying it "will initiate a progressive withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan, and will follow a timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy＇s office said the withdrawal will be done in consultation with NATO allies and the Afghan government.
All French soldiers could be out of Afghanistan by 2013, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told France Info radio Thursday.
Obama announced Wednesday night that all the additional U.S. forces he ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 will be home within 15 months.
In a nationally televised address from the East Room of the White House, Obama said 10,000 of the "surge" forces would withdraw by the end of this year, and the other 23,000 would leave Afghanistan by September 2012.
Calling the deployment of the surge "one of the most difficult decisions that I＇ve made as president," Obama said the military campaign was "meeting our goals" in Afghanistan and the drawdown would begin "from a position of strength."
"Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11," Obama said. "Together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda＇s leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and special forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that al Qaeda had ever known. This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11."
At the same time, Obama said the Afghanistan drawdown and the simultaneous winding down of the war in Iraq would help the United States begin to refocus attention and resources on efforts to resolve economic and other problems and to unify a politically divided nation.
"America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home," the president said.
Afghanistan＇s defense ministry said Thursday it "respects the decision of the U.S. government and the U.S. people" and is ready to take up the slack as U.S. forces begin to pull out.
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"Based on quantity and quality developments, the ... Afghan National Army is ready to cover the gap," the ministry said.
The Taliban called Obama＇s announcement "only ... a symbolic step which will never satisfy the war-weary international community or the American people."
"The assertion of American leaders about making headway in Afghanistan and Obama＇s proclamation of them being in a stronger position are nothing more than baseless claims and propaganda," the group said in a statement released Thursday.
The troop withdrawals from Afghanistan will begin next month, as Obama promised when he ordered the surge in a speech 18 months ago at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
After the departure of all the surge forces, the total U.S. military deployment in Afghanistan will be slightly fewer than 70,000 troops.
Obama＇s time frame will give U.S. commanders another two "fighting" seasons with the bulk of U.S. forces still available for combat operations.
It also will bring the surge troops home before the November 2012 election in which Obama will seek a second term.
Initial reaction was varied, with outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates supporting Obama＇s decision while congressional leaders were divided between those who wanted a faster withdrawal and others calling for caution in leaving Afghanistan.
Candidates for the Republican presidential nomination to run against Obama next year expressed reservations about the withdrawal strategy, but differed in their reasoning.
"When America goes to war, America needs to win," former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said.
"This decision should be based on conditions on the ground and success, not some vague notions of a responsible wind down and then jumping over what the real mission is now which is stabilizing the security of the country."
"We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we shouldn＇t adhere to an arbitrary timetable on the withdrawal" from Afghanistan, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said in a statement. "This decision should not be based on politics or economics."
In his own statement, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who was Obama＇s ambassador to China until recently, called for shifting the Afghanistan mission to "a focused counterterror effort which requires significantly fewer boots on the ground than the president discussed tonight."
"We need a safe but rapid withdrawal, which encourages Afghans to assume responsibility, while leaving in place a strong counterintelligence and special forces effort proportionate to the threat," Huntsman said.
Public exhaustion with the conflict is reflected in recent public opinion polls. Nearly three-quarters of Americans support the United States pulling some or all of its forces from Afghanistan, according to a June 3-7 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey.
That figure jumped 10 points since May, likely as a result of the death of bin Laden, pollsters said.
The United States has spent roughly $443 billion on the war in Afghanistan, according to budget analysts. According to Travis Sharp, a researcher at the Center for a New American Security, the troop reductions Obama announced would bring a savings of about $7 billion in fiscal year 2012. |
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