Pullout Date Defended

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's July 2011 date for Beginning to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan is not a 'drop-dead deadline "but a message to Kabul about the urgency of Fielding an army Thurs Defend the country, senior U.S. officials said on Sunday.

"He was balancing a demonstration of resolve" Communicating with also a sense of urgency to the Afghan government that they must step up to the plate in terms of their recruiting soldiers, training their soldiers and getting their soldiers into the field, "Defense Secretary Robert Gates told CBS's "Face the Nation" program.

The Democratic president and his top advisors have faced sharp criticism Republican since Obama announced in a televised address on Tuesday that they would send another 30.000 troops to Afghanistan but would begin bringing them home in 18 months.

Republican Senator John McCain supported the decision Thurs Boost Troop levels nearly 100.000 Thurs but denounced the July 2011 date as "arbitrary" and said it "sends exactly the wrong message." Senator Lindsey Graham questioned Whether Extremists would see the date as a sign of weakness.

Gates and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, rejected those criticisms and defended the president's decision in a round of interviews with the Sunday morning news programs, saying the date would begin a transition to Afghan military control.

"We're not talking about an exit strategy or a drop-dead deadline," Clinton told NBC's "Meet the Press." "What we're talking about is an assessment that ... we can begin a transition, a transition to hand off responsibility to the Afghan forces." "It's the beginning of a process," Gates added. - http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_463378.html

Pullout Date Defended