President Barack Obama said that terrorists trained “in Afghanistan and the tribal regions along the Pakistani border” were responsible for killing innocent civilians in the United States and the United Kingdom. He added that with the support he continued receive from U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron he would prevent “an even wider insurgency in Afghanistan [that] would mean an even larger safe haven for the al-Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates to plan their next attack.”
Speaking at a joint press conference at the White House with Mr. Cameron, Mr. Obama said that although the fight in Afghanistan was not easy, it was “a necessary one.” However he expressed confidence that they had the right strategy, arguing, “We’re going to break the Taliban’s momentum. We’re going to build Afghan capacity so Afghans can take responsibility for their future. And we’re going to deepen regional cooperation, including with Pakistan.”
Mr. Cameron echoed the President’s sentiment on Afghanistan, arguing that “there is no clearer, no more tangible illustration of Britain and America standing shoulder to shoulder in our national interest than this mission that we are engaged in together.” Illustrating the division of responsibility between the two nations he add, that British troops were working to an American commander in Helmand and American troops working to a British commander in Kandahar.
Both leaders hailed the ongoing Kabul Conference as “historic” and “another major step forward,” adding that the Afghan government had concrete plans to implement President Karzai’s commitments to improve security, economic growth, governance, and the delivery of basic services.
Mr. Obama further affirmed that “the U.S. firmly supports,” the Afghan government’s peace and reconciliation plan and also lavished praise on the recently inked Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement which would “increase economic opportunity for people on both sides of the border.”
On the wider question of drawing down U.S. and U.K. troops in Afghanistan, the President said “Over the coming year, Afghans will begin to take the lead in security, and in July of next year... we will begin the transfer some of our forces out of Afghanistan.
Mr. Cameron also underscored the importance of a political strategy for Afghanistan given that “Insurgencies tend not to be defeated by military means alone.” In a reference to U.K. support for Afghan plan for reconciliation and reintegration of the Taliban and other groups, he said, “To those people currently fighting, if they give up violence, if they cut themselves off from al-Qaeda, if they accept the basic tenets of the Afghan constitution, they can have a future in a peaceful Afghanistan.”
