Posted: May 20, 2012 12:21 PM by CJ, The Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) - President Barack Obama says the NATO alliance agrees on a vision for post-2014 Afghanistan and is pressing world leaders to implement that strategy following a decade of war.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the transition in his country will mean that Afghanistan is "no longer a burden" on the rest of the world.
Obama and Karzai met on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Sunday to discuss Afghanistan's post-conflict future. Standing next to Obama, Karzai thanked Americans for the help that their "taxpayer money" has done in Afghanistan.
Obama told reporters that the NATO summit would focus on Afghanistan's move to peace and stability after the lengthy war.
Meanwhile, NATO's secretary general vows there will be 'no rush for the exits.' Anders Fogh Rasmussen (AHN'-derz fohg RAHS'-moo-sihn) says NATO's goal, strategy and timetable for the war remain unchanged.
Newly elected French President Francois Hollande (frahn-SWAH' oh-LAWND') has said he will withdraw all French combat troops from Afghanistan by year's end - a full two years before the timeline agreed to by nations in the U.S.-led NATO coalition.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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