Obama: No Timeline On Afghanistan

At his press conference this evening, President Obama said he does not yet have a timetable on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

"What I know is I'm not going to allow al-Qaeda or bin Laden to plan attacks on the U.S. homeland with impunity," he said.

Mr. Obama did not speak kindly of the Afghan government, saying it "seems very detached from what's going on in the surrounding community."

He said that "we haven't seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out" safe havens where terrorists live in the country.

"This is a situation in which a region served as the base to launch an attack that killed 3,000 Americans," he said.

He added that a meeting he had with families of Sept. 11 victims was "a reminder of the cost of allowing those safe havens to exist."

"We cannot allow al-Qaeda to operate, we cannot have those safe havens in that region," he said.

Mr. Obama was also asked if he would reverse the Bush-era practice of not allowing members of the media to photograph the coffins of U.S. soldiers coming home from war.

The president declined to answer, saying he is in the process of reviewing the policy in conjunction with the Department of Defense.

The president added that his "most sobering moment" as president has been signing letters "to the families of our fallen heroes."

"It reminds you of the responsibilities that you carry in this office," he said.