KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - President Barack Obama and Afghan
President Hamid Karzai (HAH'-mihd KAHR'-zeye) have signed an
agreement aimed at cementing a lasting U.S. commitment to
Afghanistan after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.

Obama says the costs of the Afghan war have been great. He says the deal with Afghanistan allows the U.S. to wind down the war, but
still stand by Afghanistan and its people.

The president says the deal will also pave the way for "a future of peace."

Karzai says postwar agreement will seal an "equal partnership" between Afghanistan and the United States.

Obama and Karzai signed the agreement at the presidential palace
in Kabul shortly after the U.S. president arrived in Afghanistan on
Tuesday, slipping into the country under the cover of darkness.

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