Obama says U.S. to begin Afghan pullout in 2011

U.S. President Barack Obama has called upon NATO allies to increase their presence in Afghanistan, as he announced a significant new deployment to the country and plans for the U.S. to begin its pullout in July 2011.

"Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. Now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility -- what's at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world," Obama said Tuesday night in what could be one of the defining speeches of his presidency.

"Taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011."

Obama said the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, but the stakes are too high for the U.S. to pull out immediately.

"Afghanistan is not lost, but for years it has moved backwards," he said.

"If I did not think that the security of the United States and the safety of the American people were at stake in Afghanistan, I would gladly order every single one of our troops home tomorrow."

The president said the core U.S. goal in Afghanistan remains disabling the al Qaeda terror network.

"To abandon this area now -- and to rely only on efforts against al Qaeda from a distance - would significantly hamper our ability to keep the pressure on al Qaeda, and create an unacceptable risk of additional attacks on our homeland and our allies," Obama said.

Obama said an additional 30,000 U.S. soldiers will be deployed to the country in 2010 and a group of Marines will be deployed this month.

"The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 -- the fastest pace possible -- so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers," Obama said.

The increased troops "will increase our ability to train competent Afghan security forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight. And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans."

Obama began outlining his plans at 8 p.m. in a nationally broadcast speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

He started by reminding Americans why their country went to Afghanistan, invoking the September 11 attacks and the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden.

"America, our allies and the world were acting as one to destroy al Qaeda's terrorist network, and to protect our common security," Obama said.

He also spoke broadly of the affect the Iraq war had on Afghanistan, noting the disparaging troop numbers between the two countries.

"When I took office, we had just over 32,000 Americans serving in Afghanistan, compared to 160,000 in Iraq at the peak of the war," he said.

Obama spent some of his speech directly speaking to some of the criticism of his plans, as a recent poll said a majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of the Afghan war.

He downplayed the comparisons to the Vietnam War, saying unlike that case, the American people were attacked and they have a broad-based coalition.

Obama also stressed the importance of putting a timeline on the mission.

"The absence of a timeframe for transition would deny us any sense of urgency in working with the Afghan government. It must be clear that Afghans will have to take responsibility for their security, and that America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan," he said.

Obama also spoke of the financial cost of the war, noting that the U.S. is recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

"By the time I took office, the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan approached a trillion dollars. Going forward, I am committed to addressing these costs openly and honestly. Our new approach in Afghanistan is likely to cost us roughly $30 billion for the military this year, and I will work closely with Congress to address these costs as we work to bring down our deficit," he said.

The speech came on the same day news emerged that Canada's area of responsibility is shifting, with the Canucks becoming responsible for Arghandab district, north of Kandahar city.

At least one group of Marines is expected to be deployed within a few weeks of the announcement, with boots arriving on the ground by Christmas.

Further deployments would follow next year, with a total of between 30,000 and 35,000 new troops arriving in Afghanistan by the end of 2010.

In total, there are 71,000 U.S. troops already in Afghanistan, many stationed in the turbulent southern provinces. The U.S. should have about 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan by May 2010, officials say.

European officials say Obama has asked for an additional 5,000 to 10,000 troops from his NATO allies there.

Obama also asked for tougher targets for the Afghanistan and Pakistan governments and outlined why the U.S. needs to provide more training and backup to Afghan troops -- despite the war being eight years old.

He called Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday morning to share the details of the strategy with him.

Tuesday night marked the end of Obama's 92-day review of the war in Afghanistan -- during which he probed the value of a costly troop surge.

He already boosted the U.S. contingent by 21,000 soldiers.