Obama expected to unveil Afghan drawdown plan next week

[Newsjock]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

President Barack Obama is expected to unveil his U.S. troop reduction plan for Afghanistan next week, buoyed by assessments by senior defense officials that the U.S. war strategy is headed in the right direction and has weakened the Taliban-led insurgency.

But some U.S. officials in Washington and in Afghanistan are concerned that many of the gains aren't sustainable, and conditions are too fragile to allow for the "significant" troop drawdown that Obama is being pressured to begin next month by some top aides and growing numbers of lawmakers of both parties.

... Obama pledged to begin withdrawing some of the 100,000 U.S. troops next month in a Dec. 1, 2009, speech in which he laid out his strategy to prevent a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan that would allow al Qaida to re-establish a sanctuary in the war-ravaged country of 36 million.

... Some Obama lieutenants, led by Vice President Joe Biden, also are reportedly pushing for a substantial reduction, their eyes on Obama's campaign for re-election next year.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/06/17/116070/obama-expected-to-unveil-afghan.html

[rsmith6621]

1. It's Time For US to LEAVE......

......and leave the people of Afghanistan to figure out what they want. We first went there to get OBL..we got him it's time for us to bring our troops home and spend the $$$ here on security and slowing the debt.

[laylah]

2. by moving them to Iraq? nt

[OnyxCollie]

3. How many contractors will remain there?

And how much are we going to continue to pay them?