Obama: It's not America's responsibility to make Afghanistan a perfect place --- President Barack Obama announces that US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by 2016, but warns the country will not be "a perfect place" -- US forces will complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, President Barack Obama said Tuesday, unveiling a plan to end America's longest war 15 years after the September 11 attacks. -- Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, President Obama confirmed that the 32,000-strong US deployment in Afghanistan would be scaled back to around 9,800 by the start of 2015. -- As he announced the end of US involvement in a conflict which has claimed the lives of more than 2,300 US personnel, Obama said future security would hinge on the Afghans themselves. -- "We have to recognize Afghanistan will not be a perfect place," he said. "And it is not America's responsibility to make it one. The future of Afghanistan must be decided by Afghans." -- US combat operations would draw to a close at the end of 2014, meaning US troops would no longer patrol Afghan cities, towns or valleys from next year, Obama said. - More, Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/10859434/Obama-Its-not-Americas-responsibility-to-make-Afghanistan-a-perfect-place.html