President Obama is expected to announce tonight at 8:00 EDT that he will withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and an additional 23,000 by the end of next summer. Although it's tempting to think of this as merely a political act with an eye to the 2012 election, Obama's decision will have an enormous impact on men and women serving overseas, their families, and of course the people of Afghanistan, whose future remains uncertain. For context, the Costs of War project presents these news clippings about Obama's upcoming speech, the thinking behind it, and its broader implications for the war in Afghanistan.
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- Cost of Wars a Rising Issue as Obama Weighs Troop Levels - New York Times
- On the ground in Afghanistan, U.S. drawdown is distant - Reuters
- Obama's task: maintaining support for Afghan war - Washington Post
- Gates: War fatigue a factor in Obama's troop withdrawal plans - The Hill
- Decisions on Afghan Strategy Won't End With Obama's Announcement - NPR
- Biden trumps Petraeus on Afghan decision? - Foreign Policy
