Eikenberry assures Afghans U.S. will stay beyond 2011

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Eikenberry assures Afghans U.S. will stay beyond 2011
By Thomas L. Day | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thursday, December 17, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry Thursday further signaled that a strong American military presence will remain in Afghanistan long after July 2011, when President Obama plans to end his troop surge.

Speaking at the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Relations before a group of diplomats, non-governmental organizations and Afghan citizens, Eikenberry drove home the Obama administration's sometimes contradictory message.

To the Afghan government: act with urgency. To the Afghan people: We will not abandon you.

"After eight years of assistance to Afghanistan, many Americans and many members of Congress are impatient to see results," he said, while assuring that "our military commitment will not end or decline even as our combat forces (withdraw)."

Eikenberry suggested that the July 2011 date for beginning a U.S. troop drawdown is flexible.


Rest of article at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/80821.html