No permanent protectorate in Afghanistan: US
[Al Arabiya Latest] President Barack Obama vowed Thursday that Afghanistan would not become a "permanent protectorate" of the United States as he defended his decision to begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011.
Speaking to CBS in his first interview since announcing his new Afghan strategy last week, Obama warned that without a deadline some Afghans would take America's provision of security for granted.
"There are I think elements in Afghanistan who would be perfectly satisfied to make Afghanistan a permanent protectorate of the United States, in which they carry no burden, in which we're paying for a military in Afghanistan that preserves their security and their prerogatives," he told the network.
Posted by: Fred 2009-12-12 |