Obama sets course for exit from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in a first step toward ending the long, costly war and returning America’s focus toward it’s own troubled economy.Obama said he would pull 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, followed by about 23,000 more by the end of next summer and a steady withdrawal of remaining troops after that.In a 15-minute televised address, Obama vowed that the United States — struggling to restore its global image, repair its faltering economy and bring down the high jobless rate at home — would end a decade of military adventures prompted by the September 11 attacks in 2001 and exercise new restraint with American military power.”Tonight, we take comfort in knowing that the tide of war is receding,” Obama said, heralding the gradual drawdown of US forces in Iraq and the limited US involvement in the ongoing international campaign in Libya.Yet news that Obama will pull the entire ‘surge’ force he sent to Afghanistan in 2010 is certain to fuel friction between Obama and his military advisors who have warned about the perils of a hasty drawdown.Nearly 10 years after the Taliban government was toppled, US and NATO forces have been unable to deal a decisive blow to the resurgent Islamist group. The Afghan government remains weak and notoriously corrupt, and billions of dollars in foreign aid efforts have yielded meager results.Obama’s decision on trimming the US force was a more aggressive approach than many expected.It went beyond the options offered by General David Petraeus, the outgoing commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, whom Obama has picked to lead the CIA.Even after the withdrawal of the 33,00 US troops, about 70,000 will remain in Afghanistan, about twice the number there when Obama took office. (Reuters)