国际英语新闻:Obama to Announce Decision on Afghanistan Troop Drawdown

The president could also address growing anti-war sentiment in the United States, reflected in public opinion polls, and positions taken by members of Congress.

In the U.S. Senate, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia made the case heard more frequently that the U.S. can no longer afford the costs of the Afghanistan war.  Republican John McCain responded.

MANCHIN: "The question the president faces and we all face is quite simple.  Will we choose to rebuild America, or Afghanistan?"

MCCAIN: "If we leave Afghanistan in defeat, we will repeat the lessons of history, and it is not our expenditures on Afghanistan that are the reasons why we are now experiencing the budget difficulties that we are experiencing."

Before a meeting with President Obama on Tuesday, outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters Mr. Obama clearly had to take American's concerns about war costs into account in making his decision, in addition to conditions on the ground in Afghanistan.

"It goes without saying that there are a lot of reservations in the Congress about the war in Afghanistan and our level of commitment.  There are concerns among the American people who are tired of a decade of war," Gates said.

One day after announcing his Afghanistan troop decision, President Obama will visit the military base at Fort Drum, New York, home to the 10th Mountain Division, which has seen intense and frequent deployments in Afghanistan as well as Iraq.