No 'long-term' Afghan presence, Obama says
Sunday, 1 March 2009
WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (AFP): The United States has no desire for a "long-term" military presence in Afghanistan despite plans to send more troops to the war-torn country, President Barack Obama said Friday.
"One of the things that I think we have to communicate in Afghanistan is that we have no interest or aspiration to be there over the long term," Obama said in an interview with PBS public television.
"There's a long history, as you know, in Afghanistan of rebuffing what is seen as an occupying force and we have to be mindful of that history as we think about our strategy," he said.
Obama, who earlier Friday announced an end to US combat operations in Iraq within 18 months, has vowed a new focus on fighting Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The new president has ordered another 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan and is conducting a review of policy in the region.
"One of the things that I think we have to communicate in Afghanistan is that we have no interest or aspiration to be there over the long term," Obama said in an interview with PBS public television.
"There's a long history, as you know, in Afghanistan of rebuffing what is seen as an occupying force and we have to be mindful of that history as we think about our strategy," he said.
Obama, who earlier Friday announced an end to US combat operations in Iraq within 18 months, has vowed a new focus on fighting Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The new president has ordered another 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan and is conducting a review of policy in the region.