Obama: 'Time to Focus on Nation-Building' at Home

That's faster than the military would like in Afghanistan

(NEWSER) - A few hours ahead of President Obama's prime-time address on Afghanistan, administration officials are leaking some main points to the AP , Washington Post , and the New York Times :

• Obama will bring home 10,000 troops this year and another 20,000 or so by the end of next summer.
• Those combined withdrawals will effectively mean the return home of all the "surge" troops Obama sent to Afghanistan in 2009. Another 70,000 US troops would remain in the country heading into 2013.

Military pushes for slow withdrawal as Obama weighs next move

(NEWSER) - The military has called on President Obama to keep the Afghanistan troop surge in place until the fall of next year, ensuring that many of the 33,000 extra troops remain in the country for the next two fighting seasons, when the weather is warm. The military wants to avoid a 2012 scenario in which it loses large numbers of troops just as militants are becoming most active, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move would come with a political perk for Obama: Many troops would be coming home just before the 2012 election. More»

69% say US shouldn't be there

(NEWSER) - American support for the war in Afghanistan has reached an all-time low, according to the latest New York Times / CBS poll. Some 69% of those polled believe the US shouldn't be fighting in Afghanistan, up from 53% just four months ago. Support has plunged among both Democrats and Republicans, with 68% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans saying the war is going somewhat or very badly, according to the poll, which is consistent with several other recent surveys. More»

He will meet privately with troops' families today

(NEWSER) - President Obama made an unannounced visit to Dover Air Force Base today to be on hand as the coffins of 30 US troops were carried off a plane, reports USA Today . The ceremony was closed to the press. The troops, many of them members of an elite Navy SEALS unit, were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan over the weekend, and Obama was to meet privately with their families today. NATO thinks a Taliban rocket likely brought down the chopper. More»

Sarkozy has 4,000 troops there

(NEWSER) - A mere 12 hours after President Obama spoke on his Afghanistan drawdown, France offered its support for the plan. It will also begin a pullout of its 4,000 troops next month, “in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements,” the Élysée Palace said. The decision came after a phone conversation between Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, the New York Times reports. More»