Obama: Plans On Track To Start Leaving Afghanistan Next Year

Speaking to Australian television, President Obama says things are getting better in Afghanistan and we can’t stay there in perpetuity.

Afghanistan is likely to be a key topic for discussion when he holds talks with leaders in Australia, which has some 1,500 troops in the country – the largest single contingent outside NATO – and has suffered 11 combat deaths.

Obama said the war in Afghanistan remained a difficult task but that there had been positive trends recently.

But combat deaths and violence have been rising.

Obama reiterated his plan to begin drawing down U.S. troops in 2011 and handing responsibility for security to domestic forces in Afghanistan.

“We can’t be there in perpetuity,” he said. “Neither the American people nor the Australian people should be asked to carry that burden any longer than it needs to be carried.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.