Obama Announces Withdrawal of Troops in Afghanistan

President Barack Obama could withdraw 30,000 troops of the 100,000 sent to Afghanistan 18 months ago at the end of 2012. Withdrawal is expected to be complete in 36 months.

It is possible that at least 5 thousand military leave the Asian country next month, while another 5,000 soldiers could return to the U.S. over this year.

The details of this withdrawal will be announced in a speech at 20:00 local time (00:00 GMT Thursday). The cost of the invasion and war, around 10 billion dollars a month, weighed in a while in the U.S. economy. “We are in an economic crisis and this is an expensive war,” said Robert Lamb, an expert in conflict of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

In December 2009, Obama announced the shipment of 30 thousand officers to Afghanistan at the United States came to have 110,000 troops on the territory, which totaled 47,000 other NATO troops. At that time, the president said that from July 2011 the United States troops would be gradually reduced in the Asian country.

The NATO summit held in Lisbon in late 2010 informed that the security responsibility will completely relay on Afghan forces in 2014.

Source: EFE