奥巴马宣布从阿富汗撤军.doc

奥巴马宣布从阿富汗撤军
Obama's Plan for Troop Cuts in Afghanistan
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
President Obama says there is enough progress in Afghanistan to remove about one-third of American troops by September of next year. Mr. Obama announced his plan Wednesday night. Earlier that day he spoke to VOA.
BARACK OBAMA: "Keep in mind we're talking about ten thousand troops by the end of this year, an additional twenty-three thousand by the end of next summer. And we'll still have sixty-eight thousand US troops there, in addition to all the coalition partner troops. So there is still going to be a substantial presence. But what it does signal is, is that Afghans are slowly taking more and more responsibility."
The plan will bring home all of the extra troops he ordered sent to Afghanistan eighteen months ago. They will start leaving in July. And Mr. Obama says American troops will ing home as Afghan security forces move into the lead.
He calls this a phased transition process in a mission that will change bat to support. This process will plete by twenty-fourteen, he says, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.
Mr. Obama said peace in Afghanistan will require a political settlement which could include the Taliban.
BARACK OBAMA: "We will encourage the Afghans, and we ourselves will talk to anybody. But they are going to have to break ties wi