奧巴馬宣佈3萬3000名美軍撤離阿富汗

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced the beginning of the end of the country's 10-year war in Afghanistan, ordering the withdrawal of 33,000 American troops by the end of a White House address Wednesday, President Obama told the American people "the tide of war is receding." He said the first 10,000 American troops will pull out by the end of this remaining troops from the surge announced in December of 2009 will come home next year, with U.S. forces continuing their withdrawal at a "steady pace" as Afghan forces take the lead.

Some 100,000 American troops are serving in Afghan war has become increasingly unpopular with the American public. With a trillion dollars spent on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the last decade, President Obama acknowledged it was time to focus on "nation-building at home."The president said that by 2014, the process of transition in Afghanistan will be complete, with Afghans taking responsibility for their own announcement Wednesday on troop levels is seen as more aggressive than a slower drawdown called for by some military commanders. Still, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he supported the president's decision.

In his 13-minute speech, President Obama noted that al-Qaida is under more pressure than at any time since the September 11 terrorist attacks and is on a "path to defeat." U.S. special forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May Afghanistan, the president said U.S. forces have inflicted losses on the Taliban and taken a number of the insurgent group's . Obama acknowledged that the war in Afghanistan can not end without some kind of political settlement. He expressed support for Afghan-led reconciliation talks with members of the Taliban who are willing to break from al-Qaida, abandon violence, and abide by the Afghan Taliban called Mr. Obama's troop withdrawal plan "only a symbolic step" that will not satisfy "the war-weary international community or the American people."美國總統奧巴馬宣佈開始結束美國在阿富汗的十年戰爭。他下令在2012年年底前撤回3萬3000名美軍。奧巴馬在星期三的白宮講話中對美國民衆說，“戰爭的浪潮正在消退”。他說，首批一萬名駐阿美軍將在今年底前撤離。在阿富汗部隊接管國家的同時，美軍將繼續“穩步”撤出。2009年12月宣佈增派的其餘部隊將在明年返回美國。

美國目前在阿富汗的駐軍大約有10萬人。阿富汗戰爭在美國民衆中越來越不得人心。過去10年中，美國在阿富汗和伊拉克戰爭上花費了一萬億美元。奧巴馬承認，現在是把重點放在“國內國家建設”的時候了。奧巴馬總統說，移交工作將在2014年前完成，屆時阿富汗人將負責他們自己的安全事務。儘管一些軍事指揮官呼籲更加緩慢地撤軍，奧巴馬星期三宣佈的決定被視爲比較激進的撤軍計劃。不過，美國國防部長蓋茨說，他支持總統的決定。

奧巴馬在13分鐘的講話中說，基地組織目前所受的壓力比9/11恐怖襲擊以來任何時候都大，他們正在“走向失敗”。美國特種部隊5月2日擊斃了基地組織領導人本·拉登。奧巴馬說，美軍在阿富汗打擊了塔利班，奪取了這個激進組織的一些據點。奧巴馬承認，阿富汗戰爭只有在某種政治解決方案下才能結束。他強調，美國支持阿富汗領導的與部分塔利班成員和解的談判。這些塔利班成員表示願意脫離基地組織、放棄暴力並遵守阿富汗憲法。塔利班說，奧巴馬的撤軍計劃“只是一個象徵性的步驟”，不會滿足“厭戰的國際社會和阿富汗民衆”。