Thousands of American troops could be recalled from Afghanistan by the end of the year, as U.S. President Barack Obama carefully prunes his military's presence in the war-torn country.
Since taking office, Obama has tripled the number of Americans serving in Afghanistan, as he has sought to gain momentum in a costly fight that has dragged on for nearly a decade.
Almost a third of the 100,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in Afghanistan were brought in as part of a "surge" of troops that Obama sent to the front lines at the end of 2009. Since then, the U.S. president has cited gains in dismantling the Qaeda network present within Afghan borders and in May he announced the killing of Osama bin Laden -- who was found across the border in Pakistan.
But with polls showing a war-weary U.S. public favouring a troop withdrawal, Obama is expected to soon reveal how many Americans will be coming home.
A senior White House defence official says the U.S. president will likely announce plans to bring home up to 5,000 troops this summer, when he addresses the public on Wednesday night. A similar-sized withdrawal could follow in the months ahead.
Whatever course of action Obama announces on Wednesday, he will be weighing the costs of a troop withdrawal to the ongoing military effort on the ground.
CNN's Samantha Hayes reported Wednesday that some of Obama's top defence advisers have urged him to limit the number of troops that he plans to pull out of Afghanistan.
"Both (Defence) Secretary (Robert) Gates and Gen. David Petraeus have recommended a much-smaller troop withdrawal for this year, about three to five thousand -- so about half of what it sounds like President Obama is going to be calling for," Hayes told CTV News Channel from Washington.
"Their concern is that the gains made with the surge could be lost if you take that many troops out of the country by the end of 2012."
But Gates himself has admitted that Obama faces "a lot of reservations in the Congress about the war in Afghanistan and our level of commitment," in addition to the waning support for the war among Americans.
For the Afghan government, the expected decrease in U.S. troops comes at a time when its own army is taking on more responsibilities, including the care of five provincial capitals and two provinces it will take charge of next month.
Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi of the Afghan Defence Ministry said he had confidence that Afghan forces can pick up the slack for the departing U.S. forces.
"There will be some battles, there will be suicide attacks and bomb attacks," Azimi said.
"But we in the Afghan forces are prepared to replace the foreign forces and I'm confident the army has enough capacity and ability."
With files from The Associated Press
