US Defence Chief Robert Gates has said it would be premature to speed up the pace of troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. In an interview with CBS news 60 Minutes, Robert Gates said it’s too early to accelerate withdrawal of troops.
“I think it’s premature,” he said.”I think we just don’t know. It’s only been a week. And people are already drawing historical conclusions. I think that’s a little quick,” Mr Gates told CBS.
After the al-Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden was shot dead by US special forces in Abbottabad near Islamabad, it is widely believed in the United States that there is no reason to keep troops in Afghanistan where one of the main aims of the war on terror after 9/11 was to defeat al-Qaeda and deny it sanctuaries. It is said that there are currently 200 al-Qaeda operatives left in Afghanistan.
Mr Gates has said the death of al-Qaeda could be a game changer in the Afghan war.
