Moving out
June 23, 2011
US President Barack Obama announced late on Wednesday that 33,000 US soldiers would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 2012.
In a speech at the White House outlining US plans, Obama said that 10,000 of the troops set to leave would do so by the end of this year.
Obama said his administration was able to remove troops because al Qaeda was under more pressure than it had been at any point since the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, that led to the invasion of Afghanistan later that year.
"Tonight we take comfort in the knowledge that the tide of war is receding and that fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm's way," said Obama in the televised speech.
Beginning, not the end
The president said the US would continue to participate in initiatives aimed at uniting the Afghan people and strengthening security within the country.
"This is the beginning - but not the end - of our effort to wind down this war," Obama said. "We will have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we have made, while we draw down our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government."
Even after the announced withdrawal of the US troops, around 70,000 will still remain in Afghanistan by the autumn of 2012, a greater presence than when Obama took office.
The president also announced that a NATO summit was due to take place in Chicago in May next year to discuss progress in Afghanistan.
Some 4,800 German soldiers are serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led mission to the country.
Author: Richard Connor (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Darren Mara