Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed

Bin Laden's death confirms Afghan war can be refocused
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2011 8:15 AM CDT

Osama bin Laden's death has stirred up a debate over whether the US should pull out of Afghanistan early. Asked about it on his upcoming 60 Minutes appearance, President Obama reminded Steve Kroft that he's already committed to a draw-down of troops starting in July. But bin Laden's death "reconfirms that we can focus on al-Qaeda, focus on the threats to our homeland, train Afghans in a way that allows them to stabilize their country, but we don't need to have a perpetual footprint of the size that we have now." (Click for more already released tidbits from Obama's 60 Minutes interview.)

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