Questions with impact on the pkk, how turkey will address that. The truth is our most urgent challenge right now. So long as that is an equation that none of these other issues can move forward and things are going to get worse and hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. We need to look at the kurds as an integral and central part of the battle. How do you resolve the challenges of assad. Having a wakeup call for the International Community that unified iraq does not exist. The kurds are not going to be working with baghdad anymore. That opens up another box of questions and policy decisions that we are encouraging you and those room and others to look at more urgently than had been done today. I want to thank everyone for coming and think davis for the impetus for this report. Then when you get 22 people together, nancy was able to get a bus was able to keep us ed and achieve some reconciliation. Thank you. Thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] beautification is more of a matter of cosmetics. To me describes the whole effort to bring the Natural World and. Anly world into harmony to bring order, usefulness, the light to our whole environment. That begins with trees and flowers and landscaping. Lady bird was about beautifying the nation. She was a natural campaigner, successful business woman, and savvy political partner to her husband. Cspans original series first ladies, influence and image, examining the public and private life. And their influence on the presidency. From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama at 8 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan three. On thursday president obama announced plans to keep 5500 u. S. Troops in afghanistan through 2017. Mr. Obama says his decision came afghanonsulting with leaders, his National Security team, and leaders. The president says u. S. Troops will continue to serve a noncombat role, training and assisting Afghan Forces. This is about 20 minutes. President obama americas combat mission in afghanistan came to a responsible end. That milestone was achieved thanks to the courage and the skills of our military, intelligence, and civilian personnel. Hey surf there with extraordinary skill and valor. Important to remember the patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan. Visited our troops to thank them on behalf of a grateful nation. Could take great pride in the progress they help to achieve. They struck devastating blows against the al qaeda leadership, delivered justice to osama bin laden, prevented terrorist attacks, and saved american lives. They pushed the taliban and back some of the Afghan People can reclaim their communities and send their daughters to school and improve their lives. Our troops trained Afghan Forces and so they could take the lead for their own security and protect afghans as they voted in historic elections leading to the first democratic transfer of power in their countrys history. Today, American Forces no longer patrol afghan villages or valleys. Our troops are not engaged in major Ground Combat against the taliban. Those missions now belong to afghans who are fully responsible for securing their country. But, as ive said before, while americas combat mission in afghanistan may be over, our commitment to afghanistan and its people endures. As commander in chief i will not allow afghanistan to be used as a safe haven for terrorist to attack our nation again. our forces will remain engaged into narrow, but critical missions. Training Afghan Forces and supporting counterterrorist operations against the remnants of al qaeda. Of course, compared to the 100,000 troops we once had in afghanistan, today fewer than 10,000 remain in support of these very focused missions. I meet regularly with my National Security team, including commanders in afghanistan to assess honestly the situation on the ground. To determine where our strategy is working and where we may need greater flexibility. I have insisted consistently that our strategy focus on the development of a sustainable afghan capacity and selfsufficiency. When we needed Additional Forces to advance the goal or make adjustments in terms of of our timetables, we have made those adjustments. Today, i want to update the American People on our efforts. Since taking the lead for security earlier this year, Afghan Forces have continued to step up. This has been the first fighting season were afghans have been on their own and they are fighting for their country bravely and tenaciously. Afghan forces continued to hold most urban areas. When the taliban has made gains, as in kunduz, Afghan Forces backed by Coalition Support have been able to push them back. It has come at a very heavy price. Many troops have lost their lives, as have civilians. At the same time, Afghan Forces are still not as strong as they need to be. They are developing critical capabilities. Intelligence, logistics, aviation, command and control. Meanwhile, the taliban has made gains in rural areas and can still launch attacks in cities, including kabul. Much of this was predictable. We understood that as we transitioned, the taliban would try to exploit some of our movements out of particular areas and that it would take time for Afghan Security forces to strengthen. Pressure from pakistan has resulted in more al qaeda coming into afghanistan and we have seen the emergence of an isil presence. The bottom line is that in key areas of the country the security situation is still very fragile. In some places there is risk of deterioration. Fortunately, there is a National Unity government that supports a Strong Partnership with the United States. During their visit earlier this year, we agreed to continue our counterterrorism operation and he has asked for continued support. Following consultations with my entire National Security team, as well as our partners and members of congress, the president and the chief executive, i am therefore announcing the following steps which i am convinced offer the best possibility for a lasting progress in afghanistan. First, i have decided to maintain our current posture of 9800 troops in afghanistan through most of next year, 2016. Their mission will not change. Our troops will continue to pursue those two narrow tasks that i outlined. Training Afghan Forces and going after al qaeda. Maintaining our current posture through most of next year, rather than a more rapid drawdown, will allow us to sustain our efforts to train and assist Afghan Forces as they grow stronger. Not only during this fighting season, but into the next. Second, i have decided that instead of going down to a normal embassy presence in kabul by the end of 2016, we will maintain 5500 troops, a small number of bases including at bagra and kandahar in the south. Our troops will focus on training afghans and counterterrorism operations. These bases will give us the presence and reach our forces require to achieve their mission. In this sense, afghanistan is a key piece of the network of counterterrorism partnerships that we need from south asia to africa to deal broadly with terror threats quickly and prevent attacks against our homeland. We will work with allies and partners to align the steps i am announcing with their own presence in afghanistan after 2016. In afghanistan we are part of a 42nation coalition and our allies and partners can continue to play an indispensable role in helping afghanistan strengthen its security forces. Including respect for human rights. Finally, because governance and development remained a foundation for stability and progress in afghanistan, we will support the president and National Unity government as they pursue critical reforms. New provincial governors have been appointed and the president is working to combat corruption, strengthen institutions, and uphold rule of law. As i told the president and chief executive yesterday, efforts that deliver progress and justice for the Afghan People will continue to have the strong support of the United States. We cannot separate the importance of governance with the issues of security. The more effective these reforms happen, the better off the security situation will be. We also discussed american support of an afghan led reconciliation process. By now it should be clear to the taliban and all who oppose afghanistans progress, the only real way to achieve the amount the full drawdown of u. S. And foreign troops from afghanistan is through a lasting political settlement with the afghan government. Likewise, sanctuaries for the taliban and other terrorists must end. Next week i will post Prime Minister sharif of pakistan and continue to urge all parties in the region to press the taliban to return to talks and do their part in pursuit of the piece that afghans deserve. In closing, i want to speak directly to those whose lives are most directly affected by the decisions i announced today. To the Afghan People, who have suffered so much, americas commitment to you and to a secure, stable, and unified afghanistan, that remains firm. Our two nations have forged a Strategic Partnership for the longterm and as you defend and build your country, today is a reminder that the United States keeps our commitments. And to our men and women in uniform, i know this means that some of you will rotate back into afghanistan. With the end of our combat mission, this is not like 2010 when nearly 500 americans were killed and many more were injured. But still, afghanistan remains dangerous. 25 brave americans have given their lives there this year. I do not send you into harms way lightly. It is the most solemn decision that i make. I know the wages of war and the Wounded Warriors i visit in the hospital, and the grief of families. But as your commander in chief, i believe this mission is vital to our National Security interests in preventing terrorist attacks against our citizens and our nation. And to the American People, i know that many of you have grown weary of this conflict. As you are well aware, i do not support the idea of endless war. I have repeatedly argued against marching into openended military conflicts that do not serve our core security interests. Yet given whats at stake in afghanistan and the opportunity for a stable and committed ally that can partner with us in preventing the emergence of future threats, and the fact that we have an international coalition, i am firmly committed convinced that we should make this extra effort. In the afghan government, we have a serious partner who want once our help. And the majority of the Afghan People share our goals. We have a bilateral Security Agreement to guide our cooperation. And every single day, Afghan Forces are out there fighting and dying to protect their country. They are not looking for us to do it for them. I am speaking of the afghan army cadet who grew up seeing bombing and attacks on innocent civilians who said because of this, i took the decision to join the army to try and save as innocent peoples lives. Or the Police Officer trained to diffuse explosives. I know it is dangerous work, he said, but i have always had a dream of wearing the uniform of afghanistan. Or the afghan commando, a hardened veteran of Many Missions who said if i start telling you the stories of my life, i might start crying. Him and him and he serves, he said, because the faster we bring peace, the faster we can bring education. The stronger our unity will grow. Only if these things happen will afghanistan stand up for itself. My fellow americans after so, many years of war, afghanistan will not be a perfect place. It is a poor country that will have to work hard on its development. Him there will continue to be could contested areas. But afghans like these are standing up for their country. If they were to fail, they would endanger the security of us all. We have made enormous investments in a stable afghanistan. Afghans are making difficult but genuine progress. This modest but meaningful extension of our presence while sticking to our current era narrow missions can make a real difference. It is the right thing to do. May god bless our troops and all who keep us safe and may god continue to bless the United States of america. Mr. President , can you tell us how disappointing this is for you . Pres. Obama this decision is not disappointing. Continually, i goal has been to make sure that we give every opportunity for afghanistan to succeed while we are making sure we meet our core missions. As i have continually said, my approach is to assess the situation on the ground, figure out what is working, and what is not. Make adjustments when necessary. This isnt the first time does those adjustments have been made, it probably wont be the last. What i am encouraged by is the that we have a government that is serious about trying to deliver security and the prospect of that of life for the of a better life for the Afghan People. We have a clear majority of the afghans who want to partner with us and the International Community to achieve those goals. We have a bilateral security arrangement that ensures our troops can operate in ways that protect them while still achieving their mission. We have always known we had to maintain a counterterrorism operation in that region. In order to tamp down the emergence of active Al Qaeda Networks or other networks that