Photo: REUTERS
Taliban fighters pose with weapons in an undisclosed location in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, December 13, 2010.
President Obama said Thursday the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan are making progress and will begin a transition to Afghan control next year.
Mr. Obama spoke at the White House to unveil his administration's review of strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He says the U.S. will remain relentless in the fight against al-Qaida, whose leaders he says are facing more pressure when it comes to recruitment, training and travel. Still he says al Qaida remains a threat and continues to target the United States.
Mr. Obama says Taliban momentum in Afghanistan has been arrested and reversed in some areas, but the gains remain "fragile and reversible."
Mr. Obama's review says the U.S. relationship with Pakistan is "substantial, but also uneven." It says greater cooperation is needed from Pakistan to deny safe havens to terrorists who inhabit border areas with Afghanistan.
The release of the strategy review comes one year after Mr. Obama announced the surge of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
Meantime, a new poll from The Washington Post and ABC News shows support for the war in Afghanistan has reached a new low.
The survey says a record-high 60 percent of Americans think the war is not worth fighting, compared to 34 percent who say it is.
At the same time last year, 44 percent of Americans said they did not think the war was worth fighting.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
No comments:
Post a Comment