Obama promises to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Signaling an imminent decision on Afghanistan troop levels, President Barack Obama said Tuesday he intends to "finish the job" and destroy terrorist networks in the region.
The president said he would announce his decision on how many additional soldiers to deploy to Afghanistan after Thanksgiving.
"I feel confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive," he said.
Obama held his 10th and final war council meeting Monday night to assess his Afghanistan strategy in advance of his troop decision. He commented Tuesday during a brief news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was at the White House for a state visit.
"It is in our strategic interests, in our national security interest to make sure that al-Qaida and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively in those areas," Obama said. "We are going to dismantle and degrade their capabilities and ultimately dismantle and destroy their networks."
"It is my intention to finish the job," he said of the war in Afghanistan that has been going on for eight years - since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
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