Panetta in Kabul Ahead of trip to Turkey
YAYINLAMA
GÜNCELLEME
US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta arrived in Kabul on Tuesday to reaffirm America's commitment to Afghanistan as Washington starts to withdraw combat troops and hand over security to Afghan forces. The Pentagon chief, who says violence is falling in the country where the United States has been at war with the Taliban for 10 years, is slated to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Defense Secretary Abdul Rahim Wardak. The United States has announced the withdrawal of 10,000 of its 100,000 troops by the end of the year, while 23,000 others will leave the country by the end of September 2012 after the summer "fighting season". The Pentagon chief, who made a brief stop in Djibouti before arriving in Kabul, will next travel to Iraq, Turkey and Libya. Panetta is to meet with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Turkey.