US making real progress in Afghanistan: Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States is making “very real progress” in Afghanistan, despite new tensions following the shooting deaths of 16 Afghan civilians allegedly by a U.S. soldier.President Obama said the “tragic events” of recent days in Afghanistan are a reminder that the mission remains difficult, but that U.S. and NATO forces have made key gains.“Whats undeniable though, and what we can never forget, is that our forces are making very real progress dismantling al-Qaida, breaking the Talibans momentum and training Afghan forces so that they can take the lead and our troops can come home.”He also said the timeframe for withdrawing U.S. troops remains.“In terms of pace, I dont anticipate at this stage that were going to be making any sudden, additional changes to the plan that we currently have.”That plan would see U.S. and NATO turn over full responsibility for security to Afghan forces in 2014.