Obama to Announce Afghan Drawdown

Obama's speech will make the case for withdrawing the "surge" forces added to the mission last year.

U.S. President Barack Obama is set to deliver a speech on Afghanistan tonight in which he's expected to announce the withdrawal of 10,000 troops to start the United States' gradual disengagement from the central Asian country. The 33,000 troops that were added to the U.S contingent over the last year and a half as part of the “surge” strategy will also likely be coming home by the end of next year, leaving about 70,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan. As it stands, NATO forces are expected to withdraw almost completely by 2014 as they train Afghan forces to replace them.