Obama vows to implement his Afghan plan

WASHINGTON: On the 10th anniversary of the US military campaign in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama told his nation that he was ending the Afghan war responsibly.


On Friday, the war in Afghanistan became America’s longest military engagement ever but most Americans were still debating what should be the best strategy for bringing that war to an end.


In a statement issued by his office, Mr Obama pledged to implement his plans for turning over Afghanistan’s security to the Afghans themselves by 2014. “After a difficult decade, we are responsibly ending today’s wars from a position of strength,” Mr Obama said. “As the rest of our troops come home from Iraq this year, we have begun to draw down our forces in Afghanistan and transition security to the Afghan people, with whom we will forge an enduring partnership,” he said.


Mr Obama largely avoided the controversy surrounding the war, but he did refer to “the enormous challenges that remain in Afghanistan”.