President Barack Obama announced Wednesday evening that 10,000 American troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of the year and that a total of 33,000 will exit by the end of summer 2012. This amounts to a removable of the same number of troops that Obama added in the Afghan war in 2009, leaving 70,000 troops on the ground. Obama said that control of Afghan security would be completely transferred to that country's government by 2014. However, he added that the U.S. would remain a key "partner" in Afghan security. He also briefly addressed the U.S. economic situation, saying that we must now focus on "nation building at home." 

Read our updates on the speech, and reactions to it, below. 

The Guardian: President Barack Obama rejects Pentagon advice in his announced plans.

Firedoglake, just before the statement, asked critical questions about Obama's Afghanistan policy, many of which remain largely unanswered after his speech:

What we don’t know fully is about the strategy, and what, if any of it, will change. We don’t know how much the President will emphasize reconciliation talks between the Karzai government and Pakistan. We don’t know if the counter-insurgency mission will predominate, or if it will be overshadowed by a more limited counter-terrorism mission. We don’t know about the future of the Afghan security forces, and whether they can even be sustained without massive US support.

Most important, we don’t really have a compelling rationale for the war, especially after the death of Osama bin Laden and the admission that there are no transnational terrorists in Afghanistan. I maintain that the goal here is permanent bases, from which to launch counter-terrorism attacks of a covert nature across the region. We’ll see if the President addresses the long-term agreement his Administration is negotiating with the Afghan government.

From the full text of Obama's speech (via The Guardian):

The information that we recovered from bin Laden's compound shows al-Qaida under enormous strain. Bin Laden expressed concern that al-Qaida has been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that have been killed, and that al-Qaida has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam – thereby draining more widespread support. al-Qaida remains dangerous, and we must be vigilant against attacks. But we have put al-Qaida on a path to defeat, and we will not relent until the job is done.

From Business Insider:

The White House dismissed reports that the President disregarded the advice of his Afghanistan commander General David Petraeus, who is leaving Afghanistan next month to take over the as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

"The President's decision was fully within the range of options that were presented to him [by Petraeus] and has the full support of his national security team," a senior administration official said in a briefing for reporters. "It is certainly the view of the people who have been prosecuting this effort from the administration that this is not going to increase the [terrorist] threat."

After the draw-down is complete in September 2012, more than 70,000 U.S. troops will remain in the country.

President Barack Obama (live updates):

Let us "reclaim" the American dream.

"It is time to focus on nation building here at home."

Strength abroad is anchored in economic prosperity at home.

Cites international operation in Lybia as an example of how the U.S. can intervene in tyranny overseas. Meanwhile, in Congress, the president's policy on that conflict is making him few friends.

"Isolation" ignores very real global threats.

"We've ended our combat mission in Iraq... These long wars will come to a responsible end."

We won't try to make Afghanistan a "perfect place," we won't "police its streets." 

Afghan security forces have grown to over "100,000 troops"

This is "the beginning, but not the end" of our efforts in this war.

10,000 troops to come home this year... 33,000 troops by the end of next summer... By 2014, the transition will be "complete."

After 9/11: “Our nation was united… then our focus shifted [to Iraq]."

UPDATE: 5 p.m., PST

From the Washington Post's viewer's guide:

At the end of the day, it’s the number of troops scheduled to come home that will generate the most headlines. The broad outline of the plan is likely to include the removal of 5,000 troops this summer with an additional 5,000 by the end of the year. That said, predictions about the numbers are perhaps getting more attention they should. What matters just as much, and arguably more, is the context. How many combat brigades (instead of support units) will be pulled? How will troops be shifted in any realignment after those troops return home? And what direction will the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan take next?

Live blogging by Ryan Faughnder.

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Read our preview of Obama's announcement: 

President Barack Obama is expected to announce Wednesday the withdrawal of about 5,000 "surge" troops in Afghanistan and another 5,000 by the end of the year, according to Reuters.

U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, Creative Commons

The remaining troops could be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2012 or early 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Although White House press secretary Jay Carney did not give specific numbers, he told reporters at a press conference Monday the United States has made “significant progress” in the decade-long war.

”Obviously, the most sensational and significant data point in that progress ... is the elimination of Osama bin Laden,” Carney said.

“But there has been enormous progress in disrupting and dismantling Al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region beyond and below Osama bin Laden. There has been significant progress in disrupting or halting the momentum of the Taliban and significant progress in stabilizing Afghanistan and the government to allow Afghan national security forces to build up, to train and prepare for taking over the lead,” Carney said.

When Obama inherited the war, he promised to downscale troop levels -- which currently number 100,000 -- by July 2011. About 30,000 troops were sent under Obama's orders after he took office.

In his 2009 address about sending additional troops to Afghanistan, Obama said the goals were “to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future.”

A poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center shows a record number of Americans—56 percent—in favor of removing troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible. That number is up eight percentage points last month. Last year it was 40 percent.

The war costs the United States $110 billion a year, according to Reuters.

Although military leaders support a slower removal of surge troops until the situation is more stable, Obama faces pressure from members of Congress to bring home troops sooner rather than later.

Some congressional leaders support a quicker large-scale removal of troops to begin the transfer of responsibility to Afghanistan.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan), who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Tuesday 15,000 troops should be removed this year.

“The level of U.S. troop reductions in Afghanistan needs to be significant to achieve its purpose --- letting the Afghan government know we are determined to shift primary responsibility for their security to the Afghan security forces," Levin wrote in a statement, reported by CNN.

Republican support over the past month has grown for a quicker downscale of troops according to separate CNN and Pew polls.

Obama will address the nation at 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday from the White House.

Reach reporter Raquel Estupinan here.