Obama vows to defeat al-Qaeda, ensure Taliban never regains control over Afghanistan
February 8th, 2011 - 1:44 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Feb 8 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has said yet again that he is committed to defeat al-Qaeda and added that the Taliban would never be allowed to gain back control over Afghanistan.
“I can’t say anything with 100 per cent certainty but am confident that our troops have done an incredible amount of work. They are on the offensive rather than being on the defensive and we’re starting to transition so that Afghan security forces are taking over,” The Telegraph quoted Obama, as saying.
On being asked if the United States would win the nine-year war in Afghanistan, Obama said: “I can say we will defeat al Qaeda and that the Taliban will not be retaking Afghanistan,” but added: “the Taliban are still going to be an element in Afghanistan.”
During his State of the Union address last month, Obama had said that America would begin withdrawal of nearly 100,000 in July and begin handing over security duties to Afghan forces this year.
Top US officials, however, had claimed that an initial mid-2011 withdrawal date would only ensure the return of a small number of troops, with NATO leaders aiming to hand over security for to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. (ANI)
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Tags: al qaeda, barack obama, element, nato, nato leaders, security duties, security forces, state of the union, state of the union address, taliban, telegraph, transition, united states, war in afghanistan