US President Barack Obama saluted yesterday the “milestone” end of NATO s combat mission in Afghanistan, but warned the country remains “a dangerous place.”
“For more than 13 years, ever since nearly 3,000 innocent lives were taken from us on 9/11, our nation has been at war in Afghanistan,” the president said in a statement.
“Now, thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending, and the longest war in American history is coming to a “responsible” conclusion.”
Obama thanked the troops and intelligence workers who served in Afghanistan, crediting them with “devastating the core Al-Qaeda leadership, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupting terrorist plots and saving countless American lives.”
“We are safer, and our nation is more secure, because of their service.”
And he honored those who were wounded or killed in the long war, including more than 2,200 US soldiers who lost their lives to make “this progress possible.”
But, Obama warned, “Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, and the Afghan people and their security forces continue to make tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country.”
