Selling Afghan pullout plan

US officials tell the Congress the move will save some $40 billion a year.

President Barack Obama visits troops to sell Afghanistan withdrawal

Top US military and diplomatic officials appeared before Congressional committees a day after President Barack Obama announced plans to withdraw his 2009 “surge” from Afghanistan, and attention immediately began shifting to neighbouring Pakistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States must reconsider its military aid to the nuclear-armed South Asian state, which some American politicians believe has priorities in Afghanistan that diverge from US goals.

Though Admiral Mike Mullen, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Obama’s plan for the troop drawdown was more than he had been prepared for, the withdrawal will save some $40 billion a year.

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reports from Washington DC.

Source: Al Jazeera