Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on US affairs commenting on whether Washington’s decision to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan is taking place at a time when the country has achieved its objectives or the decision indicates the ineffectiveness of the US strategy in Afghanistan, said: The US officials had set two targets at the time of the invasion of Afghanistan; the first was the fight against al-Qaeda terrorism and the second was the establishment of peace, stability and democracy in Afghanistan. But now that their forces are leaving Afghanistan, they claim that their mission has only been to eliminate al-Qaeda terrorism, and in this regard, they cite the killing of Osama bin Laden, the leader of that terrorist movement, as evidence to their claim.