Obama: End of Afghan War in Sight

 　　U.S. President Barack Obama said in his weekly address that the core U.S. objective for going to war in Afghanistan is within reach.

　　The president said Saturday the goal of ensuring that al-Qaida will never be able to use Afghanistan again to launch attacks against America will be met and the war in Afghanistan will be over by the end of next year.

　　On Friday, Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the White House to discuss the future role of the U.S. in Afghanistan. The two leaders held a joint¹ news conference afterwards.

　　Obama said he and his Afghan counterpart have agreed on a plan to shift the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan to a support role this spring, a few months earlier than expected.

　　Obama said after that, U.S. troops would focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces. He said it would be a "historic moment."Currently, there are about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, along with several thousand other international soldiers. International forces are expected to end combat operations to Afghan forces at the end of 2014.

　　The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 remains² uncertain. Obama said Friday that any plan would have to include an immunity³ agreement under which U.S. troops were not subjected to Afghan law.

　　Karzai said that he and Obama also discussed a plan for direct talks with Taliban. The Afghan leader said negotiations⁴ between Afghan peace representatives and the Taliban are expected to take place at a Taliban office in Qatar.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。