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Summary
Afghan war commander General David Petraeus reserved the right to tell President Barack Obama it is too early to start withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan in July 2011.Asked in an interview with NBC'S Meet the Press whether he could make an assessment in July next year that it is not the right time to start the planned limited pullout, Petraeus said, Certainly, yes. The president and I sat down in the Oval Office and he expressed very clearly that what he wants from me is my best professional military advice, he said. Petraeus's comments come as US public support for the war and Obama's handling of it are at an all-time low with the death toll for US troops hitting a record high in July of 66. US reinforcements are trying to drive back Taliban insurgents in the south with the last units of a 30,000-strong surge of troops due to swell American numbers to 100,000 in the coming weeks. Afghanistan, with the help of its Western backers, is trying to build up its army and police so that they can take responsibility for security from US-led NATO forces by 2014. The Taliban, toppled in a 2001 US-led invasion, still control large swathes of the south and have put up stiff resistance to a surge of foreign troops as part of a counter-insurgency strategy.
