President Obama Hails End Of Afghan War In Christmas Address

Obama Hails End Of Afghan War In Christmas Address, Says World Is Better, Safer -- IBTimes

Addressing U.S. troops at the Marine Corps Base in Hawaii on Christmas, President Barack Obama said that Afghanistan will not be “a source of terrorist attacks again,” according to media reports. Obama’s speech was delivered just a week before the U.S. combat mission in the country is scheduled to end.

“We’ve been in continuous war now for over 13 years,” Obama reportedly said. “Next week we will be ending our combat mission in Afghanistan.

“Because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the American armed forces, Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country,” Obama reportedly told the troops. “The world is better, it's safer, it's more peaceful, it's more prosperous and our homeland protected because of you.”

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More News On President Obama Hailing The End Of The U.S. Combat Role In The Afghan War In His Christmas Address

On Christmas visit with troops, Obama lauds end of Afghanistan mission -- Reuters
Obama Addresses Afghan War’s End on Christmas Visit -- New York Times
Obama to troops: After 13 years in Afghanistan ‘we are safer’ -- Washington Post
Obama Visits Troops in Hawaii, Hails End of Afghan Mission -- WSJ
Barack Obama's Christmas message to troops: you have made us safer -- The Guardian/AP
Obama hails troops' sacrifice as Afghan milestone nears -- L.A. Times
Obama Tells U.S. Troops They’ve Made World ‘Better, Safer’ -- Bloomberg
Obama tells troops 'the world is better ... because of you' -- CSM/AP
Trillion-dollar war in Afghanistan achieved its goal, says Barack Obama -- The Independent
Obama calls military to offer Christmas gratitude -- Washington Examiner

President Obama Makes A Surprise Visit To Afghanistan

Obama Makes Surprise Visit to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday to visit American troops there, landing at Bagram Airfield outside the capital, Kabul, for the first time since a visit in 2012 when he signed a strategic partnership agreement with the government there to bring the war to an end.

The trip was unannounced, and Mr. Obama slipped out of the White House secretly on Saturday evening in advance of what White House officials said would be a Memorial Day rally with the troops. Officials said the president is also expected to get an on-site briefing from his military commanders and visit wounded service members.

Officials said that Mr. Obama will rally with some of the 32,000 service members who are currently in Afghanistan, many of whom are due to return home at year’s end when the 13-year war is officially brought to an end.

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Obama Surprises Troops In Afghanistan -- AP
Obama arrives in Afghanistan for surprise visit -- Washington Post
On Memorial Day Eve, President Obama Lands In Afghanistan -- NPR
Obama Lands in Afghanistan for Unannounced Troop Visit -- Bloomberg Businessweek
President Barack Obama makes surprise Afghan visit -- BBC
President Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan -- CNN
Obama lands in Afghanistan for surprise Memorial Day visit -- CBS
Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan -- USA Today
Obama Visits Troops in Afghanistan for Memorial Day -- VOA

President Obama's Remarks On Afghanistan (Sunday March 29, 2009)

Obama On "America's War" In Afghanistan -- CBS

(CBS) President Obama explained and defended his Afghanistan agenda in an exclusive interview on the CBS News broadcast Face The Nation on Sunday.

The interview followed a week of high-profile appearances by the president, and comes just days before the start of a crucial overseas trip, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier in Washington.

America's commander-in-chief sat down to explain what's now being called "Obama's War" in Afghanistan.

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Obama Rules Out US Troop Raids Into Pakistan -- Yahoo News/AP

WASHINGTON – As he carries out a retooled strategy in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama says he will consult with Pakistan's leaders before pursuing terrorist hideouts in that country.

Obama said U.S. ally Pakistan needs to be more accountable, but ruled out deploying U.S. troops there. "Our plan does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government," the president told CBS' "Face the Nation" in an interview broadcast Sunday.

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Obama: 'America's War' in Afghanistan Will Not be Open-Ended -- FOX News

President Obama said the U.S. will not stay indefinitely in Afghanistan as it works to train Afghan troops to fight a newly resurgent Taliban and Al Qaeda.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. presence in Afghanistan will not "be an open-ended commitment of infinite resources, President Obama said in an interview aired Sunday.

Obama said security is tenuous in that nation in part because of neglect in the last U.S. administration. He said he inherited the war and tried to suggest that it was not his war now that he has announce a new strategy for bringing stability to Afghanistan.

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