Afghan withdrawal to begin in July 2011: Obama

MUMBAI - The US would begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan from July 2011, President Barack Obama reiterated Sunday even as he said a final decision on a total pullout would be determined by military issues and politics.

I have said that starting July 2011, we will begin reducing troops levels. But we will not be removing all our troops, Obama said during an interaction with students at the St. Xavier’s College here.

When we went in seven years ago, Kabul was intact but rest of the country was deteriorating and we have been largely able to correct that. But, we don’t want to be in the same situation seven years from now, he added.

He also spoke of the need to give space and time for Afghan security forces to develop.