Petraeus to talk Obama out of pullout
Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:24:49 GMT
Gen. Petraeus says progress in Afghanistan will take time.彼得雷烏斯將軍說，在阿富汗取得進展將需要時間。
The commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan says he reserves the right to advise US President Barack Obama against a troop pull-out from the country in 2011.
美國和北約部隊在阿富汗的指揮官說，他保留權利去向美國總統奧巴馬建議反對部隊在2011年撤出該國。
General David Petraeus said Obama had assured him that he would seek the commander's advice before making any decision on withdraw from Afghanistan.
彼得雷烏斯將軍說，奧巴馬已向他安心，他將尋求指揮官的意見，在作出任何決定從阿富汗撤軍之前。
"The president has been clear...this is the date when the process begins which is conditions-based," Gen Petraeus said in comments broadcast by NBC on Sunday.
Obama had vowed that he would start troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in mid 2011. However, officials like Vice President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Robert Gates later said that the number of troops to be withdrawn could be as low as 2,000.
The developments come as the security situation keeps deteriorating in Afghanistan with US-led forces being killed by Taliban militants on a near-daily basis.
According to official figures, so far more than 2,000 US-led soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. Figures released by Afghanistan's Baakhtar news agency, however, put the death toll at near 4,500.
Gen. Petraeus also said that progress in Afghanistan will take time and US will hand over the country's security to Afghan troops as soon as they are ready
"As conditions permit, we transition to our Afghan counterparts in the security forces and government, and that allows a responsible draw-down of our forces."
Petraeus said he has maintained good ties with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, saying the two meet "on average about once a day."
"We have had numerous conversations and a couple of those have been at his residence, even you know, walking in his garden out behind his house and so forth. And again we have the kind of relationship that I believe we can each be forthright with the other and that means occasionally, again, confronting issues that are difficult for either of us," he said.
This is while Karzai and Obama are in an apparent rift over the war strategy in Afghanistan and the growing number of civilian deaths.
The UN has put the number of civilian casualties at nearly 1,300 so far this year. It blames a quarter of the deaths on foreign troops.
Civilians have been the main victims of violence in Afghanistan, particularly in the country's troubled southern and eastern provinces.
The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between Washington and the Karzai government in Kabul.
Petraeus's remarks come as US public support for the Afghan mission and Obama's handling of the war hits an all-time low.
JR/MMN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138831§ionid=351020403
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