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    March 13, 2012

Obama: No Hasty Exit from Afghanistan

   VOA News

   U.S. President Barack Obama says there will be no hasty retreat from
   Afghanistan after the shooting deaths of 16 Afghan civilians allegedly
   by a U.S. soldier.
   In an interview with KABC television in Los Angeles Monday, President
   Obama cautioned against what he calls a "rush to the exits" which he
   says could lead to more chaos and disaster.
   "Keep in mind that I have put us on a path that we're going to have
   this war over by the end of 2014, that our troops will be coming out,
   but we'll be coming out responsibly," said Obama. "We're going to
   continue to try to train Afghan forces so that they can take
   responsibility for their own security and we're going to continue to
   keep the pressure on al-Qaida, what's left of al-Qaida after bin Laden
   and his top lieutenants have been killed."
   Obama expressed his condolences for the civilian killings to Afghan
   President Hamid Karzai and said U.S. authorities will bring the full
   weight of the law on the alleged gunman.
   U.S. and Afghan officials say a U.S. soldier walked off his base Sunday
   and shot and killed civilians in their homes in the Panjwai district of
   southern Kandahar. Many of the victims were children. Villagers say he
   set some of the bodies on fire.
   The Taliban said it will avenge the death of every Afghan killed by
   what it called "American savages."
   The Afghan parliament condemned the killings, urging the U.S.
   government to punish the culprits and put them on trial in a public
   court. Afghan lawmakers Monday said they have "run out of patience"
   with the lack of oversight of foreign soldiers.
   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at the United
   Nations, expressed shock at the massacre.
   "Like many Americans I was shocked and saddened by the killings of
   innocent Afghan villagers this weekend. We send our condolences to
   families who have lost their loved ones and to the people of
   Afghanistan," said Clinton. "This is not who we are, and the United
   States is committed to seeing that those responsible are held
   accountable.''
   The Pentagon says a full investigation is underway.
   NATO officials say the suspect is a U.S. Army staff sergeant who acted
   alone and turned himself in. The Pentagon has not released his name.
   But a U.S. official has told news agencies that he is a 38 year-old
   father of two and recently suffered a head injury in a vehicle accident
   while on duty in Iraq.
   Specialists in U.S. military law say that if a series of investigations
   finds sufficient legal evidence, the Army sergeant will be charged and
   will face a court martial.
   Eugene Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School, says
   there is no chance the suspect will be turned over to the Afghan court
   system. Fidell says he is likely to remain in U.S. military custody and
   may be held outside of Afghanistan.

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