White House: Exit plan from Afghanistan is key
Charles BabingtonThe White House says President Barack Obama is placing heavy emphasis on how the United States eventually will withdraw from Afghanistan even as he plans to announce a troop increase next week.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the United States is in its ninth year of military involvement in Afghanistan and "we are not going to be there another eight or nine years."
Gibbs says Obama's recent meetings with military advisers have often focused on how to train Afghanistan's police and army so they can secure and hold areas taken from the Taliban after U.S. forces are gone.
Obama will address the nation Tuesday night on his Afghan strategy from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He will brief key members of Congress earlier that day.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will address the nation on his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
The president is expected to lay out his plans for expanding the Afghan conflict and, ultimately, ending America's military role.
The president and his top military and national security advisers have held 10 meetings to discuss America's future steps in Afghanistan. Though the top general in Afghanistan has asked the president for about 40,000 troops, military officials expect the president will deploy about 35,000, starting next year.
The president says the American people will support his strategy once they understand the perils of losing the war.