Barack Obama promises to 'renew America' in address from Afghanistan
Amid sharp domestic criticism over his exploitation of the al-Qaeda chief’s assassination for political gain, Mr Obama gave a defiant speech at Bagram Air Base in which he declared it was “time to renew America”.
He pledged to rebuild a country of “grit and resilience” where “children live free from fear”, and – invoking September 11 and the newly rebuilt World Trade Center - “where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown Manhattan”.
Mr Obama narrowed America's remaining objectives to to defeating al-Qaeda and training the Afghan security forces, saying: "Our goal is not to build a country in America’s image, or to eradicate every vestige of the Taliban".
Invoking the original aims of the 2001 war, Mr Obama said that US troops must remain for two more years to give Afghanistan "the opportunity to stablise" or else risk that the country could once again become a haven for terrorists. "We must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly," he said.
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Mr Obama, who signed a strategic agreement with Afghan president Hamid Karzai outlining US support for Afghanistan after its combat troops withdraw at the end of 2014, was spared criticism of the timing of his trip by a convetion that discourages American politicians from criticising the President while he is abroad.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/9240201/Barack-Obama-promises-to-renew-America-in-address-from-Afghanistan.html
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