#Obama promises 'very specific' plan for #US economy

US President Barack Obama has promised a "very specific" plan next month to improve the flagging US economy.

In Iowa on day one of a rural Midwest bus tour, he said he would put forward the blueprint when Congress returned in September.

As President Obama spoke, his would-be 2012 Republican challengers blamed him for the flagging American economy.

With US unemployment jammed at just above 9%, jobs could well remain a major issue for voters in 2012.

Responding to a question in a town hall in Decorah, Iowa, on Monday evening, Mr Obama said: "I'll be putting forward when they [lawmakers] come back in September a very specific plan to boost the economy, to create jobs and to control our deficit.

"And my attitude is - get it done."
 
'Lowering the rhetoric'
Mr Obama set off on Monday morning on a three-day swing through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

 

President Obama clashed with a member of the Tea Party in Iowa

The tour - in an imposing Secret Service armoured bus - is officially a White House event, although Republicans called it a campaign trip.

The BBC's Marcus George in Washington says Mr Obama is trying to reassert his leadership and, indirectly, shore up support in states that could make or break his campaign for a second term.

During Mr Obama's stop in Decorah, he clashed with a local leader of the conservative Tea Party, Ryan Rhodes.

Mr Rhodes referred to reports that Vice-President Joe Biden had likened Tea Party members during recent debt-ceiling negotiations to terrorists.

Mr Obama replied: "In fairness, since I have been called a socialist who wasn't born in this country, who is destroying America and taking away its freedoms because I passed a health care bill, I am all for lowering the rhetoric."

Mr Obama's approval rating dipped below 40% for the first time in a Gallup daily tracking poll on Sunday, although recent polls have shown far lower voter satisfaction with Congress.
 
'Magical Misery bus tour'
Analysts say Mr Obama's challenge is to convince voters that his policies - including a $787bn (£482bn) economic stimulus package and health care reforms - have helped the economy, not hindered it.

 

Republican candidate Rick Perry is a "good-looking rascal", according to Bill Clinton

Presumptive Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney labelled Mr Obama's trip the "Magical Misery bus tour".

The former Massachusetts governor said in a statement the president was "more interested in campaigning in swing states than working to solve the economic crisis crushing the middle class".

Texas Governor Rick Perry meanwhile completed his first full day of campaigning, telling the Associated Press news agency: "I respect all the other candidates in the field but there is no one that can stand toe-to-toe with us."

In an interview with an Iowa newspaper, Mr Perry also challenged Mr Obama, to "get rid of the regulations stifling jobs in America".

Mr Perry received an unexpected compliment in New York on Monday from Democratic former President Bill Clinton.

Mr Clinton said the Texan was a "good-looking rascal," but indicated he was not so impressed by Mr Perry's policies.

Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann will begin a bus tour on Tuesday in South Carolina, buoyed by her win in Saturday's non-binding "straw poll" in Iowa.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race after finishing a distant third in that poll. Mr Romney did not compete.

Mr Romney, Ms Bachmann and Mr Perry are each vying to become the Republican nominee and challenge Mr Obama for the White House in 2012's elections.

With the first real voting not scheduled to take place until February, correspondents say plenty of time remains for more upheaval in the Republican race.

This could include a late entrance from Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, 2008 vice-presidential nominee and conservative Tea Party hero.
BBC News - US and Canada 

Happy Birthday Mr. President!

A warm embrace from die-hard fans

President Obama received a warm embrace from his die-hard supporters at a 50th birthday campaign fundraiser in Chicago Wednesday night. The Chicago event kicked off with a concert featuring Jennifer Hudson and OkGo! Tickets range in price from $50 (for the concert) to $35,800 (for VIP seating and dinner with the president).

“After a month when he was battered by both sides of the political aisle in partisan Washington, President Obama returned to his home town a day before his 50th birthday, the first step in reenergizing his embattled base,” the Washington Post’s David Nakamura reported.

Read all about the party here.

President Obama wrapped up the debt-ceiling debate just in time to celebrate another important milestone. Thursday (today), Aug. 4, is Obama’s 50th birthday.
Washington Post reporters and bloggers have been covering the landmark occasion in a variety of ways:

 
Tweets from Obama’s party
Gallery: The best of presidential birthdays
How do you say ‘Happy birthday’ in Russian?
Obama at 50: Older, wiser . . . happier?
Obama hits 50; his approval numbers don’t
Graphic: Coming of age in D.C. politics
Obama’s faces: From baby to president
Obama throws a (big) party
Gallery: Obama’s life in photos
Tom Tole’s caption contest
Birthday cards from Congress
Turning 50 in Washington
Share your birthday milestones
Gallery: Presidents going gray

The First Family

WashingtonPost.com 

#US avoids default as Obama signs Debt Bill into Law

Click to play

President Barack Obama has signed legislation to increase the US debt ceiling and avert a financial default, after Congress voted in favour of a bipartisan compromise deal.

The bill cleared its final hurdle in the Senate by 74 votes to 26, after negotiations went down to the wire.
It raises the debt limit by up to $2.4tn (£1.5tn) from $14.3tn, and makes savings of at least $2.1tn in 10 years.

But the bill's passage failed to lift financial markets.

On Wall Street stocks ended Tuesday down by more than 2%, amid poor consumer spending data for June.
Japan's Nikkei index followed suit, finishing Wednesday morning down by about the same amount.

Moody's rating agency reacted to the bill by placing Washington's AAA credit score under a "negative outlook". Chinese credit agency Dagong downgraded its rating of the US from A+ to A, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Mark Mardell BBC North America editor

“President Barack Obama has been humiliated and blown off course by the Republican victory, compelling him and his party to swallow deep spending cuts. ”

• Read more from Mark

The bill's signing came just 10 hours before the expiry of a deadline for Washington to raise its borrowing limit, after drawn-out talks between Republicans, Democrats and the White House.

Without a deal to raise the debt ceiling, the US would have been unable to meet all its bills, the treasury department had warned.

Speaking at the White House shortly after the decisive vote in the Senate, President Obama said it was "pretty likely that the uncertainty surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling for businesses and consumers has been unsettling".

"It's something we could have avoided entirely," he added.

The president said more action was needed, saying it was impossible for the US to "close the deficit with just spending cuts".

He urged Congress to now look to boost the economy through measures to create jobs and increase consumer confidence.

"We can't balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession," President Obama said, reprising one of his key themes of recent weeks.
 
Lawmakers lament
In Tuesday's Senate vote, the bill was opposed by six Democrats and 19 Republicans.
Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have bitterly opposed the legislation in recent days, saying it offered too much of their opponents' agenda.

Click to play

Top Democrat and ex-Republican aide discuss Obama's prospects

But the legislation still received many of their votes in the House and Senate as lawmakers heeded warnings that the US would default on its debts if Congress did nothing.

"This is a time for us to make tough choices as compared to kick the can down the road one more time," Republican Senator Jerry Moran said following the vote.

Speaking after the vote in the Senate, Democratic majority leader Harry Reid echoed the discontent of some in Congress, saying "neither side got all it wanted, each side laments what it didn't get".

"Today, we made sure that America will pay its bills, now it's time to make sure all Americans can pay theirs," Mr Reid added.

Before the bill's passage, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell praised the outcome, saying: "Together, we have a new way of doing business in Washington."

The legislation passed in the House of Representatives by a clear majority on Monday evening.

 
Triggers in place
The compromise package deeply angered both right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats.

Liberals have been unhappy that the bill relies on spending cuts only and does not include tax rises for the wealthy, although Mr Obama could still let Bush-era tax cuts for the top brackets expire in January 2013.
House Republicans were displeased that the bill did not include more savings.

In a key point for President Obama, the bill raises the debt ceiling into 2013 - meaning he will not face another congressional showdown on spending in the middle of his re-election campaign next year.

The deal will enact more than $900bn in cuts over the next 10 years.

It will also establish a 12-member, bipartisan House-Senate committee charged with producing up to $1.5tn of additional deficit cuts over a decade.

Analysts have said the cuts will probably come from programmes like federal retirement benefits, farm subsidies, Medicare and Medicaid.

Economists have said that failure to pass the debt deal would have shaken markets around the globe.

 BBC News

US debt limit: Obama unveils deal with Congress leaders

President Barack Obama says Republican and Democratic leaders have struck a deal to raise the US debt limit.

Under the proposal, which is set for debate and votes in Congress on Monday, the US debt ceiling would rise by up to $2.4tn from the current $14.3tn.

The US government deficit will be cut by a similar amount over 10 years, and a special bipartisan committee will also be set up to agree spending cuts.

Without a deal the US would face the prospect of defaulting on its debts.

Party leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate still have to present the deal to their members on Monday, before the package goes to a vote.

The BBC's Jane O'Brien says the package is still likely to be a tough sell, with some Republicans and Democrats in the House remaining opposed to different aspects.

A number of conservative Republicans, including first-time congressmen, are likely to vote against the plan, while some liberals in the Democratic party will be disappointed by the prospect of cuts to benefits.

But Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi is expected to ensure enough Democrats vote for the bill to help smooth its passage, analysts say.
 
The US faces a Tuesday deadline to raise its $14.3tn (£8.7tn) debt limit or risk the first full-scale default in its history, a possibility that has spread mounting unease through international markets.

Speaking on Sunday night, the US president said it was not the deal he would have preferred, but noted that the compromise plan would make a "serious downpayment" on the US deficit.

  

Analysis

Jane O'Brien BBC News, Washington

The president says it's not the perfect deal. But he and the leaders of both parties now believe they have the framework for something they can put to their party rank and file.

It's still likely to be a tough sell. The Republican Tea Party members are unlikely to support it because the cuts don't go far enough, and many Democrats will be furious that it doesn't include tax hikes.

Both sides will hold further discussions on Monday before the agreement is drafted into legislation that can be put to a vote.

America's credit rating may still be downgraded, but it now looks more likely that the world's most powerful economy will be spared the humiliation of not being able to pay its bills on Tuesday.

"I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default, a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy," Mr Obama said.

Democrats and Republicans in Washington have been deadlocked over finding a way to cut spending and raise the debt limit as the Tuesday deadline approached.

The US limits by law the total amount of debt its government can issue, and the Obama administration has been under mounting pressure over how it would continue to pay bills and costs like salaries if the limit was reached.

News of the proposed deal was welcomed by financial markets, with shares in Tokyo, London and Paris all gaining more than 1%.

"We welcome the US debt deal and hopefully this will stabilise markets," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.
 
'Not the greatest deal'
Republican House leader John Boehner said he hoped to hold Congressional votes on the plan "as soon as possible".

"This isn't the greatest deal in the world. But it shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," he said.

The proposed deal calls for:
• At least $2.4tn deficit reduction over 10 years
• New Congressional committee to recommend a deficit-reduction proposal by November

 

 

The focus now shifts back to Congress with votes expected on Monday

• A two-stage increase in the debt ceiling.

The recommendations of the new, bipartisan committee tasked with identifying further savings would also be put to a vote in Congress, Mr Obama said.

According to Mr Boehner, those savings would amount to at least $1.5tn, bringing the total spending cuts under the plan to about $2.4tn.

In recent days, Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, and Democrats, who control the Senate, have rejected plans drawn up by the rival party in a mounting political battle.

BBC News

South Africa celebrates Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday

 

The Mandela family released this photo ahead of Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday

South Africans are celebrating former President Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday.

His foundation has urged people to do 67 minutes of voluntary work on the day - to represent the 67 years he devoted to South Africa's political struggle.

The anti-apartheid icon is expected to spend the day with family in his home village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape.

Millions of school children have simultaneously sung him a special birthday song.

It is not clear whether the target of 12.4m was reached to set a new world record for the number of people singing to an individual at the same time.

The song Happy Birthday Tata Madiba - specially composed for his 93rd birthday was sung at school assemblies across the country.

 

"The best way we can thank Nelson Mandela for his work is by taking action for others and inspiring change” -Ban Ki-moon UN secretary-general

Mr Mandela, who is a hero to many in South Africa and around the world for his long fight against white minority rule, has appeared increasingly frail since he retired from public life in 2004.

He has been receiving round-the-clock medical care at home following his release from hospital in January where he was treated for an acute respiratory infection, says the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg.

Known to South Africans by his clan name Madiba, Mr Mandela has not appeared at a public engagement since the closing ceremony of the football World Cup in July 2010.

A photo released ahead of his birthday shows him smiling and surrounded by members of his family.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, backed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said it wanted Mr Mandela's birthday to inspire people to help make the world a better place.

 

School children have made birthday cards for Mr Mandela

"If a man could dedicate 67 years of his life to doing good for the world, imagine what we could achieve if everyone just gave 67 minutes of their time to do the same," said Said Achmat Dangor, the head of the foundation.

South African companies, charities and celebrities have all announced plans for voluntary work they will do on the day.

Mr Ban urged others around the world to do the same. "The best way we can thank Nelson Mandela for his work is by taking action for others and inspiring change," he said.

In a statement released ahead of the occasion, US President Barack Obama said Mr Mandela's life and legacy exemplified "wisdom, strength and grace".

His wife, Michelle Obama, and daughters met Mr Mandela last month in Johannesburg during a visit to South Africa.

Mr Obama said his family's time with Mr Mandela was "the most moving part of their trip".

Mr Mandela stood down as South Africa's president in 1999 after serving one term, handing over to Thabo Mbeki.

After leaving prison in 1990 following 27 years in jail, he led the African National Congress party to a landslide victory in 1994 - the first time South Africa's black majority was allowed to vote.
BBC News

'Afghanistan: France follows US in troop withdrawal' - 23 June 2011

"Our mission will change from combat to support”

President Obama: "America, it is time to focus on nation-building at home"

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced the phased withdrawal of its 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

A statement said the French would follow the timetable of US withdrawals announced by President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama said 10,000 US troops would pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the move, but the Taliban dismissed it as "symbolic" and vowed to continue fighting until all foreign forces left.

At least 68,000 US troops will remain in the country after the 33,000 have been withdrawn, but they are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to take over security.

However the US reductions just announced are larger and faster than military commanders had advised.  They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013.

Correspondents say the enormous cost of the deployment - currently more than $2bn (£1.25bn) a week - has attracted criticism from Congressional leaders, while the public are weary of a war that seems to have no end and has left at least 1,500 personnel dead and 12,000 wounded.

There have also been changes on the ground, notably the killing in May of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan.
 
'Tide of war'
Mr Sarkozy's announcement came shortly after Mr Obama's, and followed a telephone discussion between the two leaders on Wednesday, said the Elysee Palace - the presidential office - in a statement.

The withdrawal of the approximately 4,000 serving French troops would be progressive and would take place "in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements", it said, beginning in the coming months.

Analysis

Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris

President Sarkozy has pointed to the progress made in Afghanistan this past year as the reason for France's decision to begin a gradual withdrawal.

It will be in a proportional manner, said the Elysee Palace, and in a calendar comparable to the US withdrawal.

France currently has 4,000 men and women operating in areas like Kapisa, the province adjoining Kabul, in the east of the country. But in recent years its special forces have been more closely involved in the fiercest fighting with the Taliban, and this has been one of the deadliest years to date, with nine French soldiers killed.

There are, of course, financial and political considerations here. France is one of the leading nations in the ongoing Nato operations over Libya and Mr Sarkozy is building up to the 2012 presidential election campaign. He has been edging slowly back up in the polls and this will be a popular decision.

The French president "stressed that France shared the American analysis and objectives and that it was happy with President Obama's decision".

Mr Obama's announcement, after a month-long strategy review, outlined the exit of the forces he sent to the country at the end of 2009 as part of a "surge".

In his speech, he said he had set clear objectives for the surge in December 2009 - to refocus on al-Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban's momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country.

His administration also stated the commitment would not be open-ended and that the withdrawal would begin in July 2011, he added.

"After this initial reduction our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support."

The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the speech was all about reassuring the American public that the "tide of war" was receding.

Six thousand Americans have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and $1 trillion has been spent.

The initial withdrawal is expected to happen in two phases, with 5,000 troops coming home in coming months and another 5,000 by the end of the year.

The remainder of the surge reinforcements - 20,000 combat troops and an 3,000 deployed to support the operation - will be out by the end of September 2012, in time for the US presidential election.

Our correspondent says this is a quicker pace than most analysts predicted, and suggests the president does not feel he needs to leave the bulk of the surge force in place for another fighting season.

 

"This is a moment when President Obama can do what was unthinkable two years ago. He can defy the Pentagon. Early in his presidency it would have been too risky to ignore military advice”

Mark Mardell BBC North America editor

The second largest contributor to the international force in Afghanistan is the UK, which has more than 10,000 soldiers including special forces.

It has pledged to pull back forces by 2015 - and earlier if conditions allow.

US administration officials told the New York Times that the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, had not endorsed Mr Obama's decision. He recommended limiting initial withdrawals and leaving in place as many combat forces for as long as possible, they said.

Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reluctantly accepted the reductions, the officials added.

Serious doubts remain about whether Afghan forces will be up to the task.

But President Karzai welcomed Mr Obama's announcement as "a good step for their benefit and the people of Afghanistan".

"I want the people of Afghanistan to be safe in their country with their own capable means," Mr Karzai said.
 
There was a more ambivalent response from senior Afghan security officials who spoke to the BBC.

 

They stressed that neither the army nor police were yet capable of handling security alone, citing problems of enemy infiltration, drug addiction, and high desertion rates.

An Afghan official with the country's National Security Council said he hoped the withdrawal would take place progressively, and not in one fell swoop.

"We look for a long-term commitment from the United States and the international community, one that will not allow Afghanistan to fall back to the pre-civil war and Taliban days," the official, who did not want to be named, told the BBC.

"We want to remind everyone, history shows that if you turn your [back] on Afghanistan, it will have negative consequences for you."

But a farmer in a volatile district in the north-eastern province of Kundoz told the BBC: "As far as I am concerned, the American forces didn't make a difference to me and my village. So if they leave it won't affect me.

"They supported militias, commanders who kill, rape and loot here. They are hated for that at my village.''

BBC News 

Barack Obama to announce Afghanistan troop decision - by Bilal Sarwary, 22 June 2011

 

Afghan forces are due to take over all security operations by 2014

US President Barack Obama will use a prime-time TV address to unveil plans for an initial withdrawal of thousands of US troops from Afghanistan.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, he is expected to say that 30,000 "surge" troops will begin leaving in July - with most gone by 2013, US media say.

The US currently has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Divisions remain within the Obama administration over the size and speed of the pull-out.

Military commanders are thought to want to limit the number of combat troops removed from the country in an effort not to lose ground gained from the Taliban during recent fighting.

Reports of Mr Obama's announcement come after departing US Defence Secretary Robert Gates confirmed that the US was holding "outreach" talks with members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It was the first time the US had acknowledged such contact.

The Afghan defence ministry welcomed the decision to withdraw foreign troops.

 

Analysis

Bilal Sarwary BBC News, Kabul

The US may be setting a timetable for withdrawing its forces - but there are many questions over the first phase of the security transition. In the past few weeks, insurgents have launched what Afghan intelligence officials say is a carefully planned wave of attacks in all of the areas to be handed over by Nato.

In Panjshir, insurgents tried to detonate a car full of explosives but it exploded before it could reach its target.

On Tuesday, the influential governor of Parwan province, Abdul Basir Salangi, a close ally President Karzai, survived an assassination attempt. In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, a bomb explosion injured two civilians.

In some areas, insurgents have blockaded cities and towns, leaving thousands short of food and medicines.

Afghanistan's police and army are still dependent on coalition forces for air support, food, ammunition and roadside bomb-clearing. In addition, they have high rates of desertion and drug addiction, as well as "rogue" soldiers - there have been a number of incidents in which men in uniform have turned their weapons on Nato and Afghan colleagues.

"We appreciate the efforts and sacrifices made by the foreign forces in Afghanistan, but at the same time we congratulate them for returning back to their homelands after a long period of war," a spokesman said.

"The Afghan National Army [ANA] is ready to fill their space but they will face some problems in this area as they still lack weapons and equipment."

Afghan forces are due to take over all security operations by 2014, but BBC correspondents say they are a long way away from being ready for that.
 
'Gains could be threatened'
Mr Obama will make his address from the White House at 2000 local time (0000 GMT on Thursday), the White House press office said.

He is expected to announce the withdrawal of as many as 5,000 troops next month, the Associated Press reported.

Most of the 30,000 additional "surge" troops Mr Obama ordered deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 are to be withdrawn from the country by the end of 2012, CNN reported.

Under the plan the US military would aim to gradually hand over all security operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.

US military leaders are thought to favour a very gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocate a more significant decrease in the coming months.

Earlier this month, Mr Gates said at Nato headquarters that "substantial progress" was being made on the ground in Afghanistan.

But he argued that "these gains could be threatened if we do not proceed with the transition to Afghan security lead in a deliberate, organised and co-ordinated manner".

US troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001

"Even as the United States begins to draw down in the next month, I assured my fellow ministers there will be no rush to the exits on our part."

But some believe the security gains being talked about mean a more rapid withdrawal of US forces is practical.

There is also growing political pressure for a significant withdrawal.

A bipartisan group of 27 US senators sent Mr Obama a letter last week pressing for a shift in strategy.

"Given our successes, it is the right moment to initiate a sizable and sustained reduction in forces, with the goal of steadily redeploying all regular combat troops," the senators wrote. "The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits."

While many Afghans accept that American troops are needed to defeat the Taliban, correspondents say that they resent their presence in the country.

The war is in its 10th year, civilian casualties are at an all-time high, and correspondents say the population has grown weary of the fighting. Insurgents are to blame for most of the deaths, but killings by foreign troops generate widespread outrage.
BBC News

Obama 'nears Afghanistan troop decision'

 

Afghan forces are due to take over all security operations by 2014

US President Barack Obama is close to a decision on the size of his planned withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and is expected to speak on the issue on Wednesday (today).

"He's finalising his decision. He's reviewing his options," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The US has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and Mr Obama has said troop withdrawals will start in July.
But there are deep divisions in the US over the size and speed of the pullout.

News of Mr Obama's deliberations comes a day after departing US Defence Secretary Robert Gates confirmed that the US was holding "outreach" talks with members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It was the first time the US had acknowledged such contact.
 
'Gains could be threatened':
Mr Obama is expected to make a public speech on Afghanistan on Wednesday, unnamed senior White House officials told US media.

US military leaders are thought to favour a very gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocate a more significant decrease in the coming months.

Attention is expected to focus on how many troops will leave Afghanistan in July, but analysts say Mr Obama's plans for the future of the 30,000 surge forces he sent in 2009 in the country will also be closely scrutinised.

Earlier this month, Mr Gates said at Nato headquarters that "substantial progress" was being made on the ground in Afghanistan.

But he argued that "these gains could be threatened if we do not proceed with the transition to Afghan security lead in a deliberate, organised and co-ordinated manner".

"Even as the United States begins to draw down in the next month, I assured my fellow ministers there will be no rush to the exits on our part."

But some believe security gains mean a more rapid withdrawal of US forces is practical.
 
'Costs outweigh benefits':
There is also growing political pressure for a significant withdrawal.

A bipartisan group of 27 US senators sent Mr Obama a letter last week pressing for a shift in strategy.

"Given our successes, it is the right moment to initiate a sizable and sustained reduction in forces, with the goal of steadily redeploying all regular combat troops," the senators wrote. "The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits."

While many Afghans accept that American troops are needed to defeat the Taliban, correspondents say that they resent their presence in the country.

The war is in its 10th year, civilian casualties are at an all-time high, and correspondents say the population has grown weary of the fighting. Insurgents are to blame for most of the deaths, but killings by foreign troops generate widespread outrage.

The US is due to start withdrawing its 97,000 troops from Afghanistan in July.

It aims to gradually hand over all security operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.
BBC News