President Barack Obama has announced the withdrawal¹ of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year and another 23,000 by the end of September 2012.

奥巴马总统宣布今年将从阿富汗撤回一万名美军，2012年12月底之前撤回23000。

Speaking from the White House, he said it was "the beginning, but not the end, of our effort to wind down this war".

Mr Obama's announcement, after a month-long strategy review, outlined the exit of the forces he sent to the country at the end of 2009 as part of a "surge".

The reductions are larger and faster than military commanders had advised.

They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013.

That would have given them another full "fighting season" - in addition to the one now under way - to attack Taliban strongholds and their leaders.

Nevertheless, about 68,000 US troops will remain in Afghanistan. All US combat troops are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to assume responsibility for security.

Correspondents say the enormous cost of the deployment² - currently more than $2bn a week - has attracted criticism from Congressional leaders, while the public are weary（厌倦，不耐烦） of a war that seems to have no end and has left at least 1,500 personnel dead and 12,000 wounded.

There have also been changes on the ground, notably³ the killing⁴ in May of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin⁵ Laden⁶ by US forces in Pakistan.

'Tide of war receding⁷'

In his speech, President Obama said he had set clear objectives for the surge in December 2009 - to refocus on al-Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban's momentum⁸, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country.

His administration also stated the commitment would not be open-ended and that the withdrawal would begin in July 2011, he added.

"Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment."

Mr Obama said the US was starting the withdrawal "from a position of strength".

He said: "Al-Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since 9/11... We have taken out more than half of al-Qaeda's leadership. We have put al-Qaeda on a path to defeat, and we will not relent until the job is done.

"In Afghanistan, we have inflicted⁹（造成，使遭受） serious losses on the Taliban and taken a number of their strongholds. Along with our surge, our allies also increased their commitments, which helped stabilise more of the country."

He added: "After this initial reduction our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support.

"We will not try to make Afghanistan a perfect place. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government."