Obama marks end of US combat in Afghanistan

2,200 troops killed, $1 trillion spent in 13-year military mission

US President Barack Obama marked the end of more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan by paying tribute to the US military, telling troops on Christmas Day that their sacrifices have allowed a more peaceful, prosperous world to emerge out of the ashes of Sept 11, 2001.

At an oceanfront Marine Corps base in Hawaii, Obama told troops that while tough challenges remain for the US military in hot spots like Iraq and West Africa, the world as a whole is better off because US troops put country first and served with distinction. He said US citizens and their president could not be more thankful.

"Because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the American armed forces, Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country," Obama said to applause from marines and their families. "We are safer. It's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again."

Cautious optimism

Thirteen years and $1 trillion later, the United States is preparing to pull the vast majority of its combat troops out of Afghanistan by year's end, as the country and its partners seek to turn the page on a bloody chapter that started the day that al-Qaida militants struck US soil on Sept 11, 2011.

From a peak 140,000 troops in 2010, the US and NATO plan to leave just 13,500 behind for training and battlefield support.

Although there are reasons for cautious optimism, including a new Afghan president whose seriousness of effort has inspired US confidence, the broader picture still looks grim.

The US is shifting to a supporting role after the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion. Civilian casualties this year are on track to hit 10,000, and some 5,000 Afghan forces were also killed in 2014, a figure that has escalated as the country took on a greater role in its own security. Insurgents have seized territory across the country, raising fears that Islamic militants will successfully exploit the security vacuum formed as the US pulls out.

A celebratory cheer of "hooah" rang out from the hundreds of troops here when Obama affirmed that the combat mission was finally ending. Roughly 2,200 US troops were killed in Afghanistan

"We still have some very difficult missions around the world - including in Iraq," Obama said. But, he added, "the world is better, it's safer, it's more peaceful, it's more prosperous and our homeland protected because of you."

AP - Reuters

(China Daily 12/27/2014 page12)