Obama signals Afghan wars next chapter President Barack

“Obama signals Afghan war's next chapter”

President Barack Obama marked the first anniversary of the death of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden with an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, signing a long-awaited strategic partnership agreement meant to set the conditions of an American withdrawal from the war-torn nation. The president reiterated that U. S. forces will not remain "a single day longer" than necessary, that he remains committed to pulling 23, 000 troops out of the country by September and that he will stick to a 2014 deadline to fully withdraw from Afghanistan. "We will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains, " the president said during a nationally televised speech to the U. S. people from Bagram Air Base early on Wednesday (Tuesday evening in the United States). "That will be the job of the Afghan people. "

In Other News n n A pastel version of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch fetched nearly $120 million from an anonymous buyer Wednesday at Sotheby's in New York, setting a new world record for a work of art sold at auction. Experts had expected the masterpiece to break new ground at the famed New York auction house; its presale estimate of at least $80 million was the highest ever listed at Sotheby's. Eric Le. Grand's football coach at Rutgers helped him emotionally in the months after his on-field paralysis. Now the coach is symbolically helping him realize his dream of making it to the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, now coached by ex-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, announced Wednesday they've signed the former defensive tackle who was partially paralyzed in a 2010 game to their 90 -man offseason roster. The signing is honorary and no money is involved. The team is sending him a jersey with his No. 52.