US President Barack Obama is preparing to make a nationwide TV address to unveil plans to pull a reported 10,000 troops out of Afghanistan this year.
Speaking from the White House at 2000 (0000 GMT Thursday), Mr Obama is expected to say 30,000 US “surge” troops will leave by the 2013.
The US currently has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan overall.
Divisions remain within the Obama administration over the size and speed of the pullout.
Military commanders are thought to want to limit the number of combat troops removed from the country in an effort not to lose ground gained from the Taliban during recent fighting.
Although the final numbers remain unconfirmed, several firm reports in the US media suggest 5,000 troops will be brought home in the coming months, with 5,000 more before the end of the year.
The BBC’s Jonny Dymond, in Washington, says the enormous cost of the military deployment – currently more than $2bn (£1.2bn) a week – is attracting high-profile criticism from Republicans and Democrats.
Analysis
The US may be setting a timetable for withdrawing its forces, but there are many questions over the first phase of the security transition. In the past few weeks, insurgents have launched what Afghan intelligence officials say is a carefully planned wave of attacks in all of the areas to be handed over by Nato.
In Panjshir, insurgents tried to detonate a car full of explosives but it blew up before it could reach its target. On Tuesday, the influential governor of Parwan province, Abdul Basir Salangi, a close ally of President Karzai, survived an assassination attempt. In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, a bomb explosion injured two civilians.
In some areas, insurgents have blockaded cities and towns, leaving thousands short of food and medicines.
Afghanistan’s police and army are still dependent on coalition forces for air support, food, ammunition and roadside bomb-clearing. In addition, they have high rates of desertion and drug addiction, as well as “rogue” soldiers – there have been a number of incidents in which men in uniform have turned their weapons on Nato and Afghan colleagues.
Meanwhile, the public – battered by hard economic times – are weary of a war that seems to have no end and appears punctuated only by the deaths of young Americans, he adds.
The Afghan defence ministry welcomed the decision to withdraw foreign troops.
“We appreciate the efforts and sacrifices made by the foreign forces in Afghanistan, but at the same time we congratulate them for returning back to their homelands after a long period of war,” a spokesman said.
“The Afghan National Army [ANA] is ready to fill their space but they will face some problems in this area as they still lack weapons and equipment.”
Afghan forces are due to take over all security operations by 2014, but BBC correspondents say they are a long way away from being ready for that.
‘Gains could be threatened’
Most of the 30,000 additional “surge” troops Mr Obama ordered deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 are expected to be withdrawn from the country by the end of 2012.
Under the plan the US military would aim to gradually hand over all security operations to Afghan security forces by 2014.
US military leaders are thought to favour a very gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocate a more significant decrease in the coming months.
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We will hear a lot in the coming days about whether the pull-out is too quick or too slow, but it is worth remembering that we are only talking about the extra 30,000 troops Mr Obama has sent”
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Mr Obama’s announcement comes days after departing US Defence Secretary Robert Gates confirmed that the US was holding “outreach” talks with members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
It was the first time the US had acknowledged such contact.
Earlier this month, Mr Gates said at Nato headquarters that “substantial progress” was being made on the ground in Afghanistan.
But he argued that “these gains could be threatened if we do not proceed with the transition to Afghan security lead in a deliberate, organised and co-ordinated manner”.
But some believe the security gains being talked about mean a more rapid withdrawal of US forces is practical.
There is also growing political pressure for a significant withdrawal.
A bipartisan group of 27 US senators sent Mr Obama a letter last week pressing for a shift in strategy.
“Given our successes, it is the right moment to initiate a sizable and sustained reduction in forces, with the goal of steadily redeploying all regular combat troops,” the senators wrote. “The costs of prolonging the war far outweigh the benefits.”
While many Afghans accept that American troops are needed to defeat the Taliban, correspondents say that they resent their presence in the country.
Insurgents are to blame for most of the deaths, but killings by foreign troops generate widespread outrage.
Original post:
Obama ready to cut Afghan ‘surge’