France announces Afghan troop withdrawal, 'similar' to US

Four thousand French troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan.


Afp June 23, 2011

PARIS: France will carry out a progressive pullback of its forces in Afghanistan, with a timetable similar to that announced by for US troops, the president's office said Thursday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement that NATO member France would make a "progressive" withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan "in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements."

The statement came after US President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered all 33,000 US surge troops home from Afghanistan by next summer and declared the beginning of the end of the war, saying the withdrawal would begin this July.

Before making his speech Obama had a telephone conversation Wednesday with Sarkozy "to discuss with him our common commitment to Afghanistan," the Elysee Palace statement said.

The French president "stressed that France shared the American analysis and objectives and that it was happy with President Obama's decision."

Following his talk with Obama, Sarkozy "confirmed that France will remain fully committed with its allies beside the Afghan people to achieve the process of transition," the statement said.

"Taking into account the progress achieved, it will carry out a progressive pullback of reinforcements sent to Afghanistan, in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements. This withdrawal will be carried out in concertation with our allies and the Afghan authorities."

Four thousand French troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan.

COMMENTS (4)

Mark | 12 years ago | Reply Do you guys even bother remembering the motive for going into Afghanistan and why troops were there for a prolonged time? It's not a retreat. It's "a,b and c happened and now d can be done and we can concentrate more on e." It's a reflection of movement. Not a stalemate. Though most I see referencing the USSR deal sort of hold onto it like their pride will fall down dead without remembering it. Also, keeping more around than needed is negative to a country. If they only keep what is required, it means less money will be going into it and civilian support including the families of the soldiers wanting them back home will rise. The only negative aspects of it for countries bringing back a number of their unnecessary soldiers are uninformed outside opinion and the misleading self serving speculation caused by it as that mislead speculation usually serves to improve the image of the enemy, raising morale. But, in the end, no matter how many theories someone can come up with... If they're wrong they're wrong. You can't fight crack theories. There's always another one to explain why they're still right. If such things as this don't take place it looks like no progress is happening just as much as if they do take place as far as speculation is concerned. The only way to differentiate it is to know more detailed information that is often withheld from the public. It gets withheld because it is also under the label of strategy. You don't announce strategic details unless you're suicidal. Also, lack of information for the enemy no matter how big of a deal it is works in the favor of the side hiding it. People get more worried as the list of information they have dwindles. Also, consider this: If you were to announce exactly where the troops are located and why if it is happening... The enemy would consider that area as a prime target using what they see as a moment of weakness in it during the middle of the process. Furthermore, if it is stated "why" it is happening and that reason is a positive one, the enemy will target the exact things that allowed them to be withdrawn causing morale loss and cause the withdrawal to be reversed.
safir | 12 years ago | Reply @ zahid true what u said but allways use the world alexender the greek he murderd so many pople.
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