WASHINGTON — The war in Afghanistan will get worse before it gets better, President Barack Obama warned Wednesday, but he declared his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. forces next year remains on track.
Standing alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama said: “What I’ve tried to emphasize is the fact that there is going to be some hard fighting over the next several months.”
The two leaders spoke at a White House news conference as U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan prepare to push hard into the Taliban’s birthplace in Kandahar province in June. The campaign for Kandahar, already underway in districts outside the city, is expected to be among the bloodiest of the nearly 9-year-old war.
“There is no denying the progress,” Obama said. “Nor, however, can we deny the very serious challenges still facing Afghanistan.”
Karzai’s warm White House welcome followed months of sniping and frustration over management of the war and about fraud allegations surrounding Karzai’s re-election last year. Both leaders said disagreements are normal with so much at stake.
“There are moments when we speak frankly to each other, and that frankness will only contribute to the strength of the relationship,” Karzai said with a smile.
The United States has taken “extraordinary measures” to avoid civilian deaths in the war, Obama said, a nod to Karzai’s loud complaints last year that U.S. airstrikes were killing innocents and making enemies of those who might be friends.
“I do not want civilians killed,” Obama said, adding that he is ultimately accountable when they are.
Heavy restrictions on when U.S. warplanes can fire at suspected militants are among the changes to war policy installed by the general Obama sent last year to turn around the war, Stanley McChrystal.
McChrystal, facing Obama and Karzai in the front row Wednesday, has said he is willing to let a few killers slip away if it means saving civilian lives.
Insurgents often hide among civilians, taking over homes or using refuge provided by sympathizers. Obama accepted McChrystal’s argument that either way, killing the other people in a house only breeds resentment and makes it harder to argue that the U.S.-backed government in Kabul is on their side.
“After all, it’s the Afghan people we are working to protect from the Taliban,” Obama said.
