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Added on the 06/04/2023 20:01:28 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
Last week, US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said the US would reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan from 4,500 down to 2,500 by year's end. O'Brien added that the drawdown would take place, regardless of the conditions on the ground. But on Sunday, America's most senior general publicly pushed back at O'Brien's remarks, calling them 'speculation.' Robert O'Brien, or anyone else, can speculate as they see fit, I am not going to engage in speculation, I'm going to engage in the rigorous analysis of the situation based on the conditions and the plans that I'm aware of in my conversations with the President. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley The mixed messages from the Pentagon and the White House come as the Taliban launched a major military offensive against the Afghan government. The attack prompted US military aircraft to carry out a series of airstrikes against Taliban fighters in recent days.
US President Joe Biden says during his State of the Union address that Ukraine is capable of stopping Putin if the US provides Kyiv the "weapons it needs to defend itself." SOUNDBITE
Dozens of protesters waving Palestinian flags gather outside the White House to protest US President Joe Biden's support for Israel's war in Gaza, ahead of his State of the Union speech. IMAGES
The United Nations begins withdrawal of MONUSCO peacekeeping forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo by handing over a first UN base to the national police. During an official ceremony at the Kamanyola base, close to the Rwandan and Burundian borders, the flags of the United Nations and Pakistan, the countries of origin of the peacekeepers in charge, were replaced by those of the DRC. IMAGES
The White House applauds the adoption of the foreign aid legislation and urges the US lower House to approve the long-delayed funding for Ukraine's war efforts against Russia. "The president urges the House to send this legislation to his desk immediately so that he can sign it into law," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tells reporters. SOUNDBITE
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).