Obama to announce plan to pull 30,000 troops

CNN reports

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama is expected to announce a plan that would result in the 30, 000 U.S. "surge" forces being withdrawn completely from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, an administration official told CNN.

The president is expected to give a speech Wednesday on the Afghanistan troop drawdown.

The time frame would give commanders another two "fighting" seasons with the bulk of U.S. forces still available for combat operations.

An estimated 100,000 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan, some 30,000 of which are part of the so-called surge ordered in 2009 in a bid to control the rising violence.

He is expected to discuss preserving flexibility in force levels on the ground so commanders can adjust as conditions warrant, the official said.

The drawdown will be accomplished by troops returning home and not being replaced as well as canceling some proposed deployments.