SIRTE, Libya, July 21 (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi ruled out on Thursday talks with the rebels seeking to
end his 41-year-rule, casting doubt on a flurry of Western
efforts to negotiate an end to a deepening civil conflict.

“There will be no talks between me and them until Judgment
Day,” Gaddafi told a crowd of thousands of his supporters in his
home city of Sirte in a remotely delivered audio message. “They
need to talk with the Libyan people … and they will respond to
them.”

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday ruled out talks with the rebels trying to end his 41-year-rule, raising questions about whether a flurry of Western efforts to negotiate an end to the deepening conflict can succeed.

“There will be no talks between me and them until Judgment Day,” Gaddafi told a crowd of thousands of supporters in his home city of Sirte in a remotely delivered audio message. “They need to talk with the Libyan people … and they will respond to them.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s plan for pulling U.S. troops from Afghanistan will intensify risks in the thick of next year’s fighting season, but Obama was right to factor in waning support at home for the war, outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Reuters.

Gates, who steps down on Thursday after four and a half years as the U.S. defense chief, said Obama’s advisers had put forward different options for gradually shrinking the 100,000-strong U.S. force in Afghanistan, where after almost a decade of war the Taliban remains a deadly, resilient enemy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The general poised to take command of Western forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday embraced President Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw a third of U.S. troops, saying it can be done without undermining the war effort.

Lieutenant General John Allen, expected to be confirmed as commander of U.S. and NATO forces, stood in contrast to other top U.S. brass in his unqualified support for the plan to pull 33,000 troops from Afghanistan over the next 15 months.

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. general poised to
take command of Western forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday
embraced President Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw a third of
U.S. troops, saying it can be done without undermining the war
effort.

Lieutenant General John Allen, expected to be confirmed as
commander of U.S. and NATO forces, stood in contrast to other
top U.S. brass in his unqualified support for the plan to pull
33,000 troops from Afghanistan over the next 15 months.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In order to win its high-stakes wager in Afghanistan, the Obama administration must ensure security trends can hold, peace talks gain traction and governance improves — all with fewer troops and less time.

If it cannot, the United States and its partners may join other world powers who tried, and failed, to tame that restless nation in the past.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In order to win its high-stakes wager in Afghanistan, the Obama administration must ensure security trends can hold, peace talks gain traction and governance improves — all with fewer troops and less time.

If it cannot, the United States and its partners may join other world powers who tried, and failed, to tame that restless nation in the past.

WASHINGTON/KABUL, June 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack
Obama announced steps for a phased pullout of 100,000 troops
from Afghanistan to end a costly war launched after the
September 11, 2001, attacks and switch the focus to the troubled
U.S. economy.

But the Afghan Taliban, resurgent a decade after being
toppled from power, dismissed Obama’s announcement as symbolic
and said only a full, immediate withdrawal of foreign forces
could stop “pointless bloodshed”. They rejected any suggestion
of U.S. gains against the insurgents.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in a first step towards ending the long, costly war and returning America’s focus towards it’s own troubled economy.

Obama said he would pull 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, followed by about 23,000 more by the end of next summer and a steady withdrawal of remaining troops after that.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday a plan to start bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan in a significant first step toward ending the long, costly Afghan war.

In a televised address, Obama said he would pull 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, followed by about 23,000 more by the end of next summer.