BRUSSELS — U.S. Defense Secretary RobertGates said Thursday that when the Obama administration begins pulling troops from Afghanistan next month it will resist a rush to the exists, “and we expect the same from our allies.”
Germany, however, publicly questioned whether the U.S. might be setting a bad example that could undermine the strategy for ending the conflict.
Gates‘ remarks to reporters after a closed-door meeting of NATO defense ministers underscored the diplomatic challenge President Barack Obama faces in delivering on his promise to begin bringing U.S. troops home. He is expected to decide within days how many to pull out this summer and fall — and possibly set a timetable for much larger withdrawals in 2012.
The U.S. has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, briefed the ministers on progress in the war at a closed-door meeting. He will deliver options for troop reductions to Obama soon.
Gates said at the outset last week of a round-the-world trip whose final stop is Brussels that detailed discussions with the White House about how to carry out the troop drawdown would begin when he returned to Washington. He is scheduled to head home Friday after delivering a speech on flaws in NATO caused by an imbalance in military power between the U.S. and its European allies. It will be his final policy speech as Pentagon chief. He will retire June 30 after 4 1/2 years in the job.
His NATO counterparts showered Gates with praise for his service. One official had Gates autograph the cover of a Time magazine edition that reported on the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
Bin Laden’s demise has changed the dynamics of the debate over winding down the war in Afghanistan. Some see it as a ticket to getting troops out faster; others, like Gates, say it remains to be seen whether eliminating bin Laden will lead to a negotiated political settlement with the Taliban, whose commander, Mullah Omar, was personally close to bin Laden.
“I think that in terms of the political prospect, the potential of the killing of bin Laden to be a game changer is there,” Gates said.
Gates told reporters the U.S. remains committed to maintaining military pressure on the Taliban, whose rule over Afghanistan ended in late 2001 after U.S. forces invaded in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Taliban has been resurgent in recent years, however.[/p]
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this will be my last news post for a while, I'll get back to posting once we get back to Tennessee.
Germany, however, publicly questioned whether the U.S. might be setting a bad example that could undermine the strategy for ending the conflict.
Gates‘ remarks to reporters after a closed-door meeting of NATO defense ministers underscored the diplomatic challenge President Barack Obama faces in delivering on his promise to begin bringing U.S. troops home. He is expected to decide within days how many to pull out this summer and fall — and possibly set a timetable for much larger withdrawals in 2012.
The U.S. has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, briefed the ministers on progress in the war at a closed-door meeting. He will deliver options for troop reductions to Obama soon.
Gates said at the outset last week of a round-the-world trip whose final stop is Brussels that detailed discussions with the White House about how to carry out the troop drawdown would begin when he returned to Washington. He is scheduled to head home Friday after delivering a speech on flaws in NATO caused by an imbalance in military power between the U.S. and its European allies. It will be his final policy speech as Pentagon chief. He will retire June 30 after 4 1/2 years in the job.
His NATO counterparts showered Gates with praise for his service. One official had Gates autograph the cover of a Time magazine edition that reported on the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
Bin Laden’s demise has changed the dynamics of the debate over winding down the war in Afghanistan. Some see it as a ticket to getting troops out faster; others, like Gates, say it remains to be seen whether eliminating bin Laden will lead to a negotiated political settlement with the Taliban, whose commander, Mullah Omar, was personally close to bin Laden.
“I think that in terms of the political prospect, the potential of the killing of bin Laden to be a game changer is there,” Gates said.
Gates told reporters the U.S. remains committed to maintaining military pressure on the Taliban, whose rule over Afghanistan ended in late 2001 after U.S. forces invaded in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Taliban has been resurgent in recent years, however.[/p]
hit the source below to read the remainder.
source
this will be my last news post for a while, I'll get back to posting once we get back to Tennessee.
