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Troop drawdown welcomed by prime minister, who says UK will keep its own force levels in Afghanistan ‘under constant review’ David Cameron has welcomed Barack Obama’s announcement that the US will withdraw about a third of its forces from Afghanistan next year as the US president declared the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban a success. In a statement issued on Thursday, the prime minister said the UK would keep its own force levels in Afghanistan “under constant review”. “I have already said there will be no UK troops in combat roles in Afghanistan by 2015 and, where conditions on the ground allow, it is right that we bring troops home sooner,” said Cameron. Obama’s statement was also welcomed by General Sir David Richards, the chief of the defence staff, but it received a more cautious assessment from general Sir Richard Dannatt, a former army chief, who described the move as “bold but risky”. Obama said 33,000 US troops would be withdrawn by the summer of 2012 or by September at the latest. The first 5,000 would return next month and another 5,000 by the end of the year. The president said that when he ordered the 33,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in 2009 they had a clear mission: to refocus on al-Qaida; reverse the Taliban’s momentum; and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country. “Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment,” he said, adding: “We are meeting our goals.” Obama claimed al-Qaida was under more pressure than at any time since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. Half of its leadership has been killed, along with its leader, Osama bin Laden. “This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11,” he said. He addressed criticism that the US should not be spending billions on wars overseas while the country is struggling economically at home and promised to shift from foreign to domestic issues. “America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home,” he said. But US and other Nato military chiefs fear that the president is taking a gamble with the scale of early drawdown, ignoring the advice of US and Nato commanders who warned that withdrawal of anything more than a few thousand in the coming months could endanger substantial gains made over the winter in the battle against the Taliban. US and Nato commanders argued that they could handle the withdrawal of about 5,000, mainly support staff. But 10,000 this year would create logistical problems and interfere with the summer “fighting season”, they warned. Cameron was among the leaders the US president informed by phone call of his decision. The prime minister said the right conditions were now in place to transfer security to the Afghans from next month. “The surge by the US and international partners, supported by an increase in the number of Afghan army and police, has reversed the momentum of the insurgency and created the right conditions for security responsibility to begin to transfer to the Afghans from July,” said Cameron. He added: “We remain side by side with Afghanistan and our international partners to achieve a military and political solution in Afghanistan that will allow the Afghan people to take full responsibility for their own sovereignty and national security.” Dannatt said he would characterise what Obama was doing as “bold but risky”. He said Obama deserved credit for backing a surge of troops, which Dannatt said had had a “beneficial effect” and left many areas more secure than they were. If troops are reduced, both by the US and the UK, it was important to ensure the overall effort is maintained, he added. “I think you have got to give him credit,” said Dannatt. “He took the arguments here 18 months ago and agreed to the surge … and they have had a real effect undoubtedly. “He wants to reduce the troops now, probably largely for domestic reasons and that is how it is and other parts of the mission have got to step up to the plate and build a more stable life for the Afghan people. “At the end of the day Afghanistan is where the Afghans live it is their country and the political solution has got to be Afghan-delivered and Afghan-led. We have given them the change it is up to them to take it.” William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the pace of withdrawal of UK troops would depend on the security situation in the country. “Between now and 2015 the level of British forces, the pace of any reductions, depends on the progress we make, the conditions on the ground, the consultations with our allies.” The foreign secretary explained that Afghan forces would be expected to take over security operations by 2014, allowing British forces to leave the year after. Speaking from Kabul, Hague insisted all UK military chiefs were aware of the “unequivocal” 2015 deadline. “We have said that by 2015 British forces will not be engaged in combat in Afghanistan or in anything like the numbers that they are now. What happens between now and 2015 depends on conditions on the ground and our continuing assessment of those,” he told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme. “One of the conditions is that by 2015 we reach that point … I can tell you there are no ifs, no buts about that.” Hague also confirmed that talks were under way with Taliban elements, and Britain was “active” in that process. “Contacts do take place with the Taliban,” he said. “President [Hamid] Karzai has spoken about this in the last week, and so has [US defence] secretary [Robert] Gates.” But Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, warned that a withdrawal of troops could leave a political “vacuum” in Afghanistan. “The worry that we all have, and there’s a huge amount of work that is going into two areas, let me mention those quickly,” he told Sky News. “One, politics. As the military effort diminishes, the danger of a vacuum is created and the Taliban fills that and al-Qaida starts to return to Afghanistan. We have to have stability in the Afghan government. “Secondly, to support that, we need Afghan forces that are strong enough. We’ve got a long way to go. The UK is doing a lot but there is a long way to go on the Afghan army and an enormous way to go on the police.” Richards, the chief of defence staff, welcomed Obama’s announcement. “The prime minister has said we will not have combat forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. It is right at this time to recognise the tremendous efforts the American military has made and continues to make in Afghanistan, both in the performance of its forces and the leadership it provides.” The insurgency across the country, is under “real and sustained pressure”, he said in a statement. “Their momentum has been halted and in some areas reversed. This summer will see the continuation of this process with Afghan forces beginning to take the lead for security in a number of areas including Lashkar Gah, the headquarters for British forces. “The Afghan army and police are increasingly able to plan, direct and execute operations to provide security for their own people. But our collective military efforts need to continue until Afghan security forces are able to assume responsibility for security across Afghanistan by the end of 2014.” Afghanistan Foreign policy United States Taliban Defence policy Military David Cameron Barack Obama William Hague Hélène Mulholland Ewen MacAskill Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk