Pullout Of US Forces In Afghanistan Fast-Tracked

Pullout Of US Forces In Afghanistan Fast-Tracked

The deadline for the Afghan forces to take charge of the security of their country was moved earlier by President Barack Obama, which will accelerate the return of US forces in Afghanistan from the country.

Following his meeting with Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, Obama indicated that US forces in Afghanistan will give the responsibility to the Afghan forces by spring instead of the earlier target by mid-2013.

In a news conference, Obama revealed that US forces in Afghanistan will not be fighting anymore by spring although they will offer advice, training, and assistance to the Afghan forces.

Most of the US forces in Afghanistan, which number around 66,000, will be pulled out of the country before 2015 although the pace of the withdrawal was not yet finalized. The meeting between Obama and Karzai focused on strategy and the role of the remaining US forces in Afghanistan after most of the troops are already out of Afghanistan. However, the number of US troops who will stay in Afghanistan was not revealed by Obama although they will concentrate on providing training as well as counter-terrorism operations.

Obama also indicated that US troops who will remain in Afghanistan should have immunity from being prosecuted while they are performing their jobs. The details of the agreement still have to be finalized by the two countries.

Karzai indicated that he was in favor of granting the remaining US forces in Afghanistan the immunity requested by the US government. In addition to the agreement on the US forces in Afghanistan, the two leaders also made some progress in the possible peace negotiations with the Taliban, which was stopped last spring.

Although Obama indicated that Al Qaeda operations within Afghanistan was nearly ended by the US, it is not yet the ideal situation the US had in mind before pulling out its troops from Afghanistan. Much work has yet to be done once most of the US forces in Afghanistan are finally withdrawn by the government.

Posted by James Fried on Sunday January 13 2013, 12:19 AM EST. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0