US Aims for 2014 Troop Withdrawal Vow Today

US and allied representatives are meeting today with Afghan government officials to hammer out an agreement for foreign troops to pull out of the nation by 2014, more than 3 years after President Obama's date for the start of the US drawdown. The action comes amid stepped-up Taliban violence in the nation and growing American dissatisfaction with the war. Pakistan's foreign minister expressed skepticism that the Afghans will be able to take over security in 4 years, reports AP.

"But it depends on how quickly they are able to train their armed forces, their civilian law enforcement agencies, to take on the responsibility of security and protection of the ordinary Afghan citizen," he said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters today's conference "is going to show more Afghan ownership and leadership, which is something we've been pushing." (More Taliban stories.)