Obama also issued a public statement saying he was "deeply saddened" by
the reports and throwing his full support behind promises from Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta and General John Allen, who commands NATO-led
forces in Afghanistan, for a full investigation. Allen said in a
statement that the US service member alleged to have carried out the
attack was in custody. The Associated Press reported that the suspect
was from Fort Lewis, Wash.
The shooting rampage immediately reignited a debate over whether to
hasten the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, where American-led
forces are scheduled to hand over security to their hosts by the end of
2014. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll found US public sentiment
against the war at near-record highs.
At a press conference last week, Obama had said that "the situation with
the Quran burning concerns me. I think that it is an indication of the
challenges in that environment, and it's an indication that now is the
time for us to transition." He did not, however, say he would change his
withdrawal timetable.
But calls to speed up the US draw-down could come from Afghanistan as
well as from the American public, which has deeply soured on the
conflict.
A narrow majority, 54 percent, of respondents in a new ABC News /
Washington post poll say US troops should withdraw on time whether or
not Afghan forces are self-sufficient.
And the survey -- which was conducted on Saturday, before the reported
killing spree - found that 60 percent of Americans say the war has not
been worth fighting. That's just four points shy of the record 64 percent
who said the same thing one year ago.
http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-president-us-soldier-kills-16-civilians-154011087.html
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