US President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered all 33,000 US surge troops home from Afghanistan by next summer and declared the beginning of the end of the war, vowing to turn to nation building at home.
In a watershed moment for US foreign policy, Obama also significantly curtailed US war aims, saying Washington would no longer try to build a “perfect” Afghanistan from a nation traumatized by decades of war.
“The tide of war is receding,” Obama said in a 13-minute prime time speech addressed to a US public increasingly fatigued by costly foreign wars and weighed down with economic insecurity.
“Even as there will be dark days ahead in Afghanistan, the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance. These long wars will come to a responsible end,” Obama said.
The president said US forces had made large strides toward the objectives of the troop surge strategy he ordered in December 2009 by reversing Taliban momentum, crushing al-Qaeda and training new Afghan forces.
However, he ultimately rejected appeals from the Pentagon for a slower drawdown to safeguard gains against the Taliban and his decision will be seen as a political defeat for the US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus.
Obama said he would, as promised, begin the US withdrawal next month and that 10,000 of the more than 30,000 troops he committed to the escalation of the conflict would be home this year.
A further 23,000 surge troops will be withdrawn by next summer and more yet-to-be announced drawdowns will continue until Afghan forces assume security responsibility in 2014.
“This is the beginning — but not the end — of our effort to wind down this war,” Obama said.
However, despite Obama’s stirring words, it is possible that the Taliban — which dismissed the announced withdrawal as a “symbolic step” — will be emboldened by signs of an accelerated US exit.
More than 1,600 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, including at least 187 this year alone.
Despite Pentagon appeals for a more modest drawdown, outgoing US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he backed the plan, adding that it “provides our commanders with enough resources, time and, perhaps most importantly, flexibility to bring the surge to a successful conclusion.”
The president spoke against the backdrop of growing domestic questioning of the purpose of the war, especially following the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last month.
Obama expressed support for fragile Afghan reconciliation talks with the Taliban, saying they could make progress “in part because of our military effort.”
However, despite the drawdowns, there will still be more than 65,000 troops in Afghanistan when Obama seeks a second term in next year’s November elections.
Turning to al-Qaeda, Obama said documents seized from bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan showed the organization was under “enormous strain.”
One official said the US operation against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal regions had “exceeded our expectations,” saying 20 of the group’s top 30 leaders had been killed in the last year.
With US-Pakistan ties still raw after the bin Laden raid, Obama said he would insist Islamabad keep its commitments to fight the “cancer” of violent extremism.
Obama’s plans drew a mixed reaction.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the partial withdrawal was a “natural result” of progress on the ground.
“We can see the tide is turning. The Taliban are under pressure. The Afghan security forces are getting stronger every day and the transition to Afghan security lead is on track to be completed in 2014,” he said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai also welcomed the announcement, as did US allies Germany and France, which said they would embark on similar withdrawals.
However, hawkish Republican Senator John McCain said Obama was taking an “unnecessary risk” and that Petraeus and Gates had recommended a slower withdrawal.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, meanwhile, suggested Obama’s motivation was political, saying: “We all want our troops to come home as soon as possible, but we shouldn’t adhere to an arbitrary timetable.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source