Afghans must maintain pressure on Taliban: Denmark

Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen on Thursday welcomed US President Barack Obama's decision to bring some US troops home from Afghanistan and stressed it was up to the Afghan people to keep pressure on the Taliban. "The pressure on the Taliban must, of course, continue, but it is a task that must gradually be given to the Afghans themselves," Espersen said in a statement, stressing it was "also the core issue" in Obama’s address Wednesday. Obama announced that 33,000 US troops who were committed to Afghanistan as the conflict escalated would be home by next summer. "The extra troops have given good results, primarily creating a good foundation for a transitional process," Espersen said of those surge troops. "At the same time we see the first initial signs that parts of the Taliban are no longer as dismissive as they have been towards a political solution," she said. Obama said he would, as promised, begin the US withdrawal this July and that 10,000 would be home this year. Denmark's 750-strong contingent in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, is based in Helmand province under British command. Denmark will bring those troops home by 2014.