KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - President Barack Obama's decision to bring half of America's 66,000 troops home within a year was welcomed Wednesday by Afghan officials who have long agitated to control their country, but was greeted with dismay by Afghans who think America failed to keep its promise of a better and safer life.
A troop drawdown was widely expected, but for the first time, Obama said how many. For some Afghans, Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday underscored the reality that foreign troops were indeed leaving - and sooner than expected.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai viewed the announcement as good news. He has pushed for a faster withdrawal of international troops, arguing that his country is sovereign and should control its own fate.
He persuaded NATO to agree on a 2014 deadline for the departure of foreign combat troops just over two years ago. He and Obama also agreed last month for Afghan troops to take the lead for security around the country this spring - months ahead of schedule - as foreign forces take the backseat and shift to an advisory and training role.
"This is something Afghanistan has wanted for so long now," Karzai's office said.
Obama said the first 34,000 troops will leave Afghanistan within a year.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said it was prepared for the responsibility.
"We welcome the decision," Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told The Associated Press. "We are ready to fill the vacuum and we are ready to take full responsibility for security in 2013."
Some Afghans disagreed and said they were taken aback that so many American troops would leave even before the 2014 deadline. Persistent violence and a spate of so-called insider attacks by Afghan troops against their foreign partners have raised concern about the readiness of government forces to take over their own security.
"I was surprised with this number and I didn't expect that 34,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan," former army Gen. Amrullah Aman, adding that he thinks the Afghan army is too weak to defend the country.
"They don't have equipment, there is no air force," he said.
The Taliban welcomed the drawdown, but said the entire U.S.-led coalition should leave immediately.
Many Afghans, however, fear that any quick drawdown will destabilize a country that is still fighting insurgents more than 11 years after the American invasion. Others express
dismay
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - President Barack Obama's decision to bring half of America's 66,000 troops home within a year was welcomed Wednesday by Afghan officials who have long agitated to control their country, but was greeted with dismay by Afghans who think America failed to keep its promise of a better and safer life.
A troop drawdown was widely expected, but for the first time, Obama said how many. For some Afghans, Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday underscored the reality that foreign troops were indeed leaving - and sooner than expected.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai viewed the announcement as good news. He has pushed for a faster withdrawal of international troops, arguing that his country is sovereign and should control its own fate.
He persuaded NATO to agree on a 2014 deadline for the departure of foreign combat troops just over two years ago. He and Obama also agreed last month for Afghan troops to take the lead for security around the country this spring - months ahead of schedule - as foreign forces take the backseat and shift to an advisory and training role.
"This is something Afghanistan has wanted for so long now," Karzai's office said.
Obama said the first 34,000 troops will leave Afghanistan within a year.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said it was prepared for the responsibility.
"We welcome the decision," Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told The Associated Press. "We are ready to fill the vacuum and we are ready to take full responsibility for security in 2013."
Some Afghans disagreed and said they were taken aback that so many American troops would leave even before the 2014 deadline. Persistent violence and a spate of so-called insider attacks by Afghan troops against their foreign partners have raised concern about the readiness of government forces to take over their own security.
"I was surprised with this number and I didn't expect that 34,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan," former army Gen. Amrullah Aman, adding that he thinks the Afghan army is too weak to defend the country.
"They don't have equipment, there is no air force," he said.
The Taliban welcomed the drawdown, but said the entire U.S.-led coalition should leave immediately.
Many Afghans, however, fear that any quick drawdown will destabilize a country that is still fighting insurgents more than 11 years after the American invasion.