Obama pledges to keep military strong despite budget cuts

U.S. President Barack Obama told troops at California's Camp Pendleton Marine base on Wednesday the war in Afghanistan is entering its final chapter and pledged to keep the military strong despite the budget cuts. "I'm here because we recently marked another milestone in this war. As of this past June, for the first time, Afghan forces have taken the lead for security across their entire country," the President said. "Instead of leading the fight, our troops now have a different mission, which is to train and advise and assist Afghan forces. "And what that signals is that our war in Afghanistan has entered the final chapter. More of our troops are coming home. We'll be down to 34,000 this winter. "By the end of next year, in just 17 months, the transition will b complete, Afghans will take full responsibility for their security, and our war in Afghanistan will be over," Obama told troops. However the end of the war in Afghanistan does not mean an end to threats to the United States, Obama noted. "Even as we decimated the al-Qaida leadership that attacked us on 9/11, al-Qaida affiliates and like-minded extremists still threaten our homeland, still threaten our diplomatic facilities, still threaten our businesses abroad. "And we've got take these threats seriously and do all we can to confront them," according to the president. Obama also spoke of budget cuts, explaining how the U.S. Marine Corps will soon be leaner and budgets will be tighter. "It's time to use some of the money we've spent on war to do some nation building right here at home," he said in his first visit to the base, noting he would handle the imminent budget cuts in a manner that will keep the U.S. Marine Corps strong and battle ready. "I'm going to keep on working to get rid of this sequester," Obama said. "You get up and do your job every day. Let's make sure Washington gets up and does their job." The stop at Camp Pendleton was part of his two-day visit to California, where he sought to build support for his proposed economic reforms aimed at strengthening the country's middle class.