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Waning support caused drawdown: US

23 June 2011 23:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says flagging American public support for the war was a key factor in deciding to bring 33,000 troops home from Afghanistan, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The "advantages and disadvantages" of a range of options were debated in the White House deliberations, including "not only the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also political sustainability here at home," Gates told AFP on Thursday.

He made the remarks one day after President Barack Obama announced his plan to pull out 33,000 forces by the end of September 2012.

Gates acknowledged that the military had a preference for a more modest drawdown, saying that top commanders always want to have more forces deployed.

"I’m not aware of a single general ever in history that did not want more troops and more time," he said.

Gates reiterated that all 33,000 American troops, who were ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 by Obama, will be withdrawn by "the end of September."

Some US lawmakers have accused Obama of jeopardizing gains against militants for purely political considerations ahead of 2012 presidential election.

But Gates defended Obama’s decision, saying it reflected both progress on the battlefield as well the political climate at home.

A new poll has shown that most Americans want a prompt drawdown of US forces from the war-ravaged country.

The Pew Research Center poll has found that 56 percent of Americans now want the US forces stationed in Afghanistan to be brought home as quickly as possible.