US President Barack Obama said in a public address Saturday that the US occupation’s goal in Afghanistan was now “within reach”, as Al-Qaeda can “never against use Afghanistan to launch attacks against America”.

US President Barack Obama said in a public address Saturday that the US occupation’s goal in Afghanistan was now “within reach”, as Al-Qaeda can “never against use Afghanistan to launch attacks against America”.

In his weekly radio and internet address, the US president vowed to move ahead with a timetable to end the 11-year-old military campaign and focus on a “broad domestic agenda”.

“We've pushed the Taliban out of their strongholds," Obama said, adding that “our core objective is now within reach… as Al-Qaeda can never again use Afghanistan to launch attacks against America."

The comments came after Obama wrapped up talks with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai, promising to speed up a transfer of lead security responsibility from NATO to Afghan forces this spring, in a sign that the pace of US troop withdrawal could quicken.

After meeting with Karzai, Obama claimed NATO forces would have a "very limited" role in the country after 2014 and insisted that Washington had achieved its prime goal of "decapitating" Al-Qaeda.

“This week, we agreed that this spring, Afghan forces will take the lead for security across the entire country, and our troops will shift to a support role," Obama pointed out.

"In the coming months, I'll announce the next phase of our drawdown. And by the end of next year, America's war in Afghanistan will be over,” the US president added, indicating that “now Americans face difficult domestic tasks of taking care of returning veterans, growing the economy, shrinking budget deficits, creating new jobs and boosting family incomes.”

“We have to fix our infrastructure and our immigration system," he said.