Obama meets Crocker and Gen Allen on Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (PAN, the White House said in a statement. 

Crocker is the new US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Allen will replace Gen. David Petraeus as the top military commander in Afghanistan. Also in attendance were Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

“The President and his team discussed implementation of the next phase of our strategy in Afghanistan, including consolidation of the gains that have been made in breaking the Taliban’s momentum and training Afghan Security Forces,” the statement said.

The discussion covered topics such as the reduction of US troop levels announced by Obama last month, and the process of transitioning lead security responsibility to the Afghan government.

In his daily news conference, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reiterated the president’s decision to withdraw 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year, followed by 23,000 next summer.

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