Clinton Cautions Against Rush to Exit in Afghanistan

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Source: Reuters

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautioned NATO allies on Thursday against a rush to the exit in the war in Afghanistan as they begin transferring security responsibility to Afghan forces.

Clinton urged NATO members to avoid "political expediency" as the security transition gets underway and also renewed a U.S. call for coalition members to finance a $1 billion "trust fund" to support the Afghan military in coming years.

"We need to worry less about how fast we can leave and more about how we can help the Afghan people build on the gains of the past 15 months," she said in prepared remarks to a conference of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin.

With Americans increasingly weary of the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan, Clinton reaffirmed the United States would start drawing down its forces there in July.

more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/14/us-afghanistan-nato-clinton-idUSTRE73D4DG20110414