The US military mission in Afghanistan remains unchanged by the
death of Osama bin Laden, the number two US general there said
Thursday, amid growing political pressure to hasten the pullout.
"Our objectives remain the same: to deny Al-Qaeda sanctuary and prevent
the Taliban from retaking Afghanistan," Lieutenant General David
Rodriguez told a videoconference in Washington.
"And by the way, the death of Osama bin Laden has not changed that
mission, and we have not seen any effects of his death on the ground to
date in Afghanistan."
US President Barack Obama is coming under increasing pressure from
Congress to speed up the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan
in the wake of the May 2 Navy SEAL raid that killed bin Laden in his
hideout in Pakistan.
It is nearly 10 years since US-led forces invaded Afghanistan to topple
the Taliban regime, which had been harboring bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda
leader who orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed
almost 3,000 people. AFP
