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The U.S. reportedly intends to extend a deadline for withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by an additional three years. According to McClatchy Newspapers, the Obama administration will formally call for the withdrawal of the U.S.-led occupation force in 2014 instead of the current date of July 2011. The plan will be unveiled at a NATO gathering in Portugal next week. As with the 2011 date, the 2014 deadline won’t be binding and could be extended far longer. On a visit to Afghanistan, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said the 2011 deadline had been a mistake.
Sen. John McCain: “It was wrong to set the date of July of mid-2011. It sent the wrong message, and it created a problem, and we need to have the President of the United States state unequivocally that it will be solely condition-based. And so, I worry a great deal about the effect not only here, but it encourages our enemies and it discourages our friends.”
via Democracy Now! | Headlines for November 11, 2010.
Filed under: News Tagged: | afghanistan, Arizona, Barack Obama, John McCain, NATO, Obama Administration, The McClatchy Company, united states
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