Washington, Jun 22 (AP) President Barack Obama is expected to withdraw roughly 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year, with about 5,000 forces leaving this summer and an additional 5,000 Americans coming home by the end of the year, a senior US defense official said today.
Obama is also weighing a timetable for recalling the 20,000 other troops he ordered to Afghanistan as part of his December 2009 decision to send reinforcements to reverse the Taliban's battlefield momentum. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the plans before Obama's formal announcement.
The White House said Obama would address the nation from the White House at 8 pm Wednesday (0000 GMT).
Ahead of that announcement, Obama called Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the White House Tuesday for an Afghanistan strategy session.