Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Meeting with Ambassador Crocker and Lieutenant General Allen

The President met today with Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Lieutenant General John Allen to discuss the way forward in Afghanistan. Vice President Biden, National Security Advisor Donilon, Secretary Panetta and Admiral Mullen also joined the meeting. The President and his team discussed implementation of the next phase of our strategy in Afghanistan, includingconsolidation of the gains that have been made in breaking the Taliban’s momentum and training Afghan Security Forces; the reduction of U.S. troop levels that the President announced last month; and the process of transitioning lead security responsibility to the Afghan government. The President thanked Ambassador Crocker and General Allen for their service, and said that he looked forward to working with them closely as they take up their important positions.

A photo of the meeting can be found HERE (www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/5905906812/in/photostream) .