News - National
Afghanistan withdrawl: 10,000 troops home this year, 20,000 next year
Posted: Jun 22, 2011 9:20 AM by Stephanie Collins
Updated: Jun 22, 2011 9:23 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is expected to bring 10,000 U.S. troops home from Afghanistan by the end of the year, and set a target of recalling 20,000 additional forces by the end of 2012.
Those forces represent the surge troops that Obama ordered to Afghanistan as part of his 2009 decision to send reinforcements to reverse the Taliban's battlefield momentum.
Obama is likely to bring home the first 10,000 forces home this year in two waves. Administration officials say about 5,000 are return this summer, with an additional 5,000 coming home by the end of the year.
The pace of withdrawing the rest of the 20,000 surge forces was unclear ahead of Obama's announcement. The president will address the nation from the White House Wednesday night.
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