WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) – President Barack Obama announced a phased pullout of troops to end a costly war in Afghanistan, but the country faced fresh turmoil after a court overturned results from last year’s fraud-tainted election.
Obama’s plan to withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of the year and a further 23,000 by the end of next summer won immediate support from France’s president.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Washington’s ally in an relationship made uneasy by allegations of incompetence and corruption, welcomed the plan and said Afghans increasingly trusted their security forces.
But the Afghan Taliban, resurgent a decade after being toppled from power following the September 11, 2001 attacks, dismissed the announcement and said only a full, immediate withdrawal of foreign forces could stop “pointless bloodshed.”
They rejected any suggestion of U.S. military gains.
In a prime-time televised appearance on Wednesday, Obama said he would withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2011, with a further 23,000 by the end of next summer. Remaining troops would be steadily withdrawn after that.
He vowed that the United States — struggling to restore its global image, shore up the economy and reduce unemployment at home — would exercise new restraint with military power.
“Tonight, we take comfort
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