American Morning
President Obama expected to announce Afghan troop drawdown, but is it too soon?
(CNN) - President Barack Obama will deliver a highly anticipated speech on the U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. He is expected to announce that 30,000 U.S. "surge" forces will be fully withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, an administration official said.
Obama has been mulling how many troops should be withdrawn this summer and by the end of the year. The President is expected to stress the importance of preserving flexibility in force levels on the ground so commanders can adjust as conditions warrant, the official said.
Though many critics have said it's long past time to get out of Afghanistan, others say it's too soon to leave. This morning on American Morning, CNN's Barbara Starr and fmr. National Security Council Member Brett McGurk preview President Obama's Afghanistan speech and examine the pros and cons of leaving the country.
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Your morning drive over whether we should pull out or not and interview with the Senate Arms committee chair was right on. How many schools could we build and staff if we use war money?
We are bleeding ourselves dry financially, weakening our country to a point we are at threat level RED. Time to leave and regain our focus.
Republicans: You need to let go, your war is over. Mission Accomplished.
I agree with our president that it's time to start the withdrawal. I'm a military member who spent eight months on the ground in Afghanistan. Local soilders were in training, but many spent more time playing ping pong, playing volleyball and just hanging out. It's time to bring troops home.
Bring our troops home! I'm a sailor who spent eight months in Afghanistan and the local soilders I observed spent more time playing volley ball than learning how to defend their own country. I agree with the president.