Barack Obama: Al-Qaeda is hunkered down

The first full-scale assessment of US President Barack Obama’s strategy for the war in Afghanistan has concluded that American troops can begin withdrawing on schedule in July, writes Channel 4 News Washington producer April Brown.

This is despite his own acknowledgement that many gains against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are “fragile and reversible.”

At a White House press conference, the president said the efforts of troops and civilians on the ground have kept the international effort on track to meet its goals.

“In short, Al-Qaeda is hunkered down,” the President said. “It will take time to ultimately defeat Al-Qaeda. Make no mistake, we are going to remain relentless in disrupting and dismantling that terrorist organisation.”

But terrorist attacks from the Taliban are still a significant problem, with a roadside bomb today killing 14 passengers on a minibus in the northwest of Afghanistan, and an attack on Sunday in southern Afghanistan where six American soldiers died.

A Taliban spokesperson reportedly claimed the attack on American forces was in retaliation against Nato for their operation in the province of Kandahar.

President Obama sent an extra 30,000 troops to the region last year in an attempt to get an upper hand on the insurgency, but with the ultimate goal of handing over control of security to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. The pressure on the White House to do so is increasing, with a new ABC News/Washington Post poll indicating about 60 per cent of Americans believe the war is “not worth fighting.”

“It is important to remember why we are fighting this war,” said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the White House press conference. “We all understand the stresses that this causes on the men and women of the military and civilian forces there, and their families. Our assessment is backed up by 49 nations also committing troops that this is critical to our national security. If we had concluded otherwise we would have made other decisions.”

The British government has also long claimed the war in Afghanistan is crucial to its national security as well. Prime Minister David Cameron has issued a statement saying the US review is “consistent with the British government’s assessment and strategy.”

And both governments have now reiterated that 2011 is a crucial year to make lasting and irreversible changes there.