WASHINGTON (AP) — In a prime-time address to the nation Wednesday night, President Barack Obama is expected to announce plans to withdraw roughly 10,000 U.S. forces from Afghanistan within the next year.
The drawdown is expected to come in two phases. About 5,000 troops are likely to leave Afghanistan this summer, followed by an additional 5,000 troops by this winter or spring 2012.
Obama also is weighing a timeline for bringing home the rest of the 30,000 additional forces he sent to Afghanistan in 2009 as part of his decision to increase troop levels to reverse the Taliban’s battlefield momentum.
On Thursday, Obama will travel to Fort Drum, an Army base in upstate New York that is home to troops that have been frequently sent to Afghanistan.
