Obama: US Responsibly Ending Wars In Iraq, Afghanistan

In a statement marking 10 years since the United States invaded Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, President Barack Obama on Friday said that after a difficult decade, the United States is “responsibly ending today’s wars from a position of strength.”

“As the rest of our troops come home from Iraq this year, we have begun to draw down our forces in Afghanistan and transition security to the Afghan people, with whom we will forge an enduring partnership,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

Thanks to the extraordinary service of US military forces, “our citizens are safer, and our nation is more secure,” the President said.

“In delivering justice to Osama bin Laden and many other Al Qaeda leaders, we are closer than ever to defeating al Qaeda and its murderous network.”

Despite the enormous challenges that remain in Afghanistan, US forces have pushed the Taliban out of its key strongholds, Afghan security forces are growing stronger, and the Afghan people have a new chance to forge their own future, he said.

“We have fought alongside Afghans, and close friends and allies from dozens of nations who have joined us in common purpose,” Obama said. ”

In Afghanistan and beyond, we have shown that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam, and that we are a partner with those who seek justice, dignity and opportunity.”