With Afghan withdrawal, US focus turns to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — As the U.S. looks ahead to its phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, even more attention is being directed toward Pakistan, where Obama administration officials say al-Qaida and its allies are still plotting attacks against the West. They argue that threat has been effectively neutralized in Afghanistan, a key justification for President Barack Obama’s announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 because al-Qaida used it as the base to launch the 9/11 attacks.