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This is not the first time in recent years the White House is finding itself at odds with the Pentagon over the number of troops in Afghanistan. playing the dominating role in Afghanistan to a significant and early transfer of responsibility to the Afghan people and certainly I think the end of the year, a significant, substantial draw down would accommodate that objective," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told ABC's Top Line. "I think Democrats want to see and what I think the American people want to see is a shift from the U.S. troops out by December, and other Democrats have also said they want to see a significant withdrawal. Carl Levin, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has said he wants to see 15,000 U.S.
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There are currently about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, so the withdrawal could be less than 10 percent, a number that is already riling up Obama's liberal base.ĭemocratic Sen. Some reports have suggested that 5,000 combat troops may be brought home in July, with roughly an additional 5,000 by the end of the year - but no confirmed numbers have been released. troops in Afghanistan will be "real."Įven if the Pentagon and White House agree on the number, Gates' public dissent makes it difficult for the president to sell that number to his supporters, who are getting increasingly agitated over the growing cost of the war. The White House, on the other hand, continues to argue that the cuts in the numbers of U.S.
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Soon-to-be-retired Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, on his final tour of Afghanistan earlier this month, warned that it would be "premature" to make any significant changes to the military campaign in Afghanistan before the end of the year or until the United States can say that "we've turned the corner here in Afghanistan." Military sources tell ABC News' Martha Raddatz they hope the initial drawdown number is small, but that they do not know what the president's decision is yet. President Bush visited there less than a year after the war started. WASHINGTON, June 20, 2011 - President Obama will announce on Wednesday his much anticipated decision on drawing down troops in Afghanistan.Īfter the announcement Wednesday, the president will travel Thursday to Fort Drum, N.Y., home of the 10th Mountain Division, one of the first to deploy to Afghanistan.