WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama was set to unveil on Wednesday his plan to start bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan in a significant first step toward ending a decade-long war that is increasingly unpopular in the United States.

Obama will announce in a televised address at 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT) a plan to pull out 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, followed by about 23,000 more by the end of next summer, congressional aides told Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama was set to unveil on Wednesday his plan to start bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan, a decisive first step toward ending a decade-long war that is increasingly unpopular in the United States.

Obama will announce in a televised address at 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT) a plan to pull out 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, followed by 23,000 more by the end of next summer, a congressional aide told Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama was set to unveil on Wednesday his plan to start bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan, a decisive first step towards ending a decade-long war that is increasingly unpopular in the United States.

Obama will announce in a televised address at 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT) a plan to pull out 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, followed by 23,000 more by the end of next summer, a congressional aide told Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama was set to unveil on Wednesday his plan to start bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan, a first step toward ending a decade-long war that is increasingly unpopular in the United States.

Obama is expected to announce in a televised address at 8 p.m. EDT a plan that may include the withdrawal by year’s end of up to a third of the 30,000 ‘surge’ troops he sent to Afghanistan in 2010, possibly followed by the removal of the rest of those extra forces by the end of 2012.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration’s ties with Afghan President Hamid Karzai remain solid despite an unusual public rebuke from the U.S. envoy to Kabul this weekend, Karzai’s ambassador to Washington said on Monday.

Ambassador Eklil Hakimi sought to downplay the significance of remarks over the weekend by U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who complained in surprisingly blunt terms about “hurtful and inappropriate” comments from Afghanistan’s political leaders — a clear reference to Karzai.

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Weeks after the death of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials are continuing to press Pakistan to do more against militancy, with few visible results as bilateral tensions continue to intensify.

Since the top-secret raid that killed the al Qaeda leader near Islamabad last month, Washington has sent a host of top officials, including CIA chief Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to call in Islamabad, ramping up pressure on an already strained alliance.

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Weeks after the death of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials are continuing to press Pakistan to do more against militancy, with few visible results as bilateral tensions continue to intensify.

Since the top-secret raid that killed the al Qaeda leader near Islamabad last month, Washington has sent a host of top officials, including CIA chief Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to call in Islamabad, ramping up pressure on an already strained alliance.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has laid out several options for President Barack Obama to reduce the number of troops there, the White House said on Thursday, signaling a plan would be announced soon.

General David Petraeus presented recommendations to Obama and the president’s national security advisers in a meeting on Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration will consider a plan to withdraw its 30,000-troop surge force from Afghanistan over the next 12 to 18 months, but give military commanders free rein to plot the drawdown’s pace.

Six weeks after U.S. special forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and as budget pressures intensify at home, support is growing in Washington for an aggressive move to curtail the U.S. role in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers called for a reduced role in Afghanistan on Wednesday, piling pressure on the Obama administration to accelerate the end to a long, costly war as it debates an initial drawdown this summer.

Leading senators from both parties called the U.S. presence in Afghanistan excessive after nearly a decade of war as they considered President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. mission in Kabul.