President: U.S. won’t allow resurgence of Taliban, al Qaeda in Afghanistan

The United States has no intention of letting the Taliban retake control of Afghanistan, President Obama said in an interview set to air Monday evening.

The president talked tough about the U.S. military’s actions in Afghanistan, where he ordered a surge of troops in late 2009 and is set to begin withdrawing troops this summer.

{mosads}”I can say we will defeat al Qaeda and that the Taliban will not be retaking Afghanistan,” Obama said in the second part of his interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News.

“I can’t say anything with 100 percent certainty, but am confident that our troops have done an incredible amount of work,” the president said. “They are on the offensive rather than being on the defensive and we’re starting to transition so that Afghan security forces are taking over. The Taliban are still going to be an element in Afghanistan.”

Obama has maintained authority over an increasingly difficult theater of battle for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. He ordered the 2009 surge and made a major change in military leadership by appointing Gen. David Petraeus to command allied troops there, following the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

But the White House is facing increasing pressure over its deadline to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, which is set to begin in July. Republicans have long argued against setting a hard deadline for withdrawal, arguing that such a timetable would allow remaining members of the Taliban and al Qaeda a chance to outlast U.S. troops in the region.

Mindful of the tough task, Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan in December (though it was grounded in part due to inclement weather), and Vice President Biden made surprise trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan in early January.

One of the biggest variables is the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whom Obama urged to make “big changes” in order to secure more political support.

“I trust that he cares about his country and he cares about the relationship with the United States, but I do think that he’s got some big changes that he has to make in his government to be legitimate in the eyes of the Afghan people over the long term,” Obama said when asked if he trusts Karzai.