The White House on Friday ruled out any change in its withdrawal timeline from Afghanistan in view of escalating attacks, including the one today that killed three American soldiers in Helmand.
“The (US) president’s focus is on bringing about the transition in Afghanistan to full Afghan lead that he outlined at Bagram when he visited,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
“He has kept his commitment from the campaign to end the war in Iraq, to focus our mission on achievable goals in Afghanistan, on Al Qaida, our principal enemy in the Af-Pak region,” Caney added.
In that effort, the president had overseen a policy that saw a surge in forces in Afghanistan, and was now witnessing a gradual withdrawal of forces, as the security responsibility was turned over to the Afghan government, the press secretary told a questioner.
In the Sangin district of Helmand province, he said, three US troops died following an attack by an individual wearing an Afghan uniform. “It is too early to say that this latest incident is part of a stepped-up effort on the insurgents’ part. We know they are trying to maximise media exposure of these events. But our military believes that the operational impact has been negligible. Nonetheless, these incidents do concern us,” he remarked.
