BBC Online :
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said America’s two-year deadline for pulling out the last of its troops may need to be “re-examined”.
US President Barack Obama is committed to withdrawing all US soldiers by the end of 2016, as Afghanistan looks after its own security. But Taliban militants stepped up attacks dramatically last year and have declared victory over the US.
Mr Ghani told US broadcaster CBS that “deadlines should not be dogmas”.
Disagreements over the timetable for the US-led coalition’s withdrawal dogged Mr Obama’s relations with the new Afghan president’s predecessor, Hamid Karzai.
Since the coalition formally ended its peacekeeping mission last month, some 13,000 mainly American soldiers remain in a training and support role, together with a few thousand US soldiers whose focus will be on counter-terrorist operations.
The Taliban declared that the US and its allies had been “defeated” and pledged to pursue a “pure Islamic system by expelling the remaining invading forces”.
At the peak of its 13-year mission, the coalition involved more than 130,000 personnel from 50 countries.
“If both parties, or, in this case, multiple partners, have done their best to achieve the objectives and progress is very real, then there should be willingness to re-examine a deadline,” Mr Ghani told the 60 Minutes programme, in an interview to be screened by CBS on Sunday evening.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said America’s two-year deadline for pulling out the last of its troops may need to be “re-examined”.
US President Barack Obama is committed to withdrawing all US soldiers by the end of 2016, as Afghanistan looks after its own security. But Taliban militants stepped up attacks dramatically last year and have declared victory over the US.
Mr Ghani told US broadcaster CBS that “deadlines should not be dogmas”.
Disagreements over the timetable for the US-led coalition’s withdrawal dogged Mr Obama’s relations with the new Afghan president’s predecessor, Hamid Karzai.
Since the coalition formally ended its peacekeeping mission last month, some 13,000 mainly American soldiers remain in a training and support role, together with a few thousand US soldiers whose focus will be on counter-terrorist operations.
The Taliban declared that the US and its allies had been “defeated” and pledged to pursue a “pure Islamic system by expelling the remaining invading forces”.
At the peak of its 13-year mission, the coalition involved more than 130,000 personnel from 50 countries.
“If both parties, or, in this case, multiple partners, have done their best to achieve the objectives and progress is very real, then there should be willingness to re-examine a deadline,” Mr Ghani told the 60 Minutes programme, in an interview to be screened by CBS on Sunday evening.
