Gates: Domestic Concerns Shaping Withdrawal

Politico reports:

Concerns in Congress and that Americans are “tired of a decade of war” are swaying President Barack Obama’s decisions about the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday as the president prepares to announce his plans on Wednesday.

Speaking with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department ahead of a White House meeting on Afghan strategy, Gates said that the war’s rising unpopularity among Americans and members of Congress has played a significant role in the president’s thinking about the role of U.S. troops there, The Associated Press reported.

“It goes without saying that there are a lot of reservations in the Congress about the war in Afghanistan and our level of commitment,” Gates said. “There are concerns among the American people who are tired of a decade of war.”

POLITICO reported Tuesday that Obama is expected to announce a plan that would bring 5,000 troops home by the end of this year and another 5,000 in the spring, with the aim of drawing down the full 33,000 in troops that were part of the 2009 surge by the end of 2012.