In a statement from the Rose Garden Tuesday afternoon, President Obama detailed his plan to “conclude our combat mission in Afghanistan.” Obama announced a reduction of U.S. troops from 33,000 to 9,800 at the beginning of 2015, and half that at the end of 2015. Then, by the end of 2016 — 15 years after the war in Afghanistan began — the president said the U.S. military “will draw down to a normal embassy presence in Kabul with a security assistance component.”
All three broadcast networks presented special reports: David Gregory anchored for NBC, George Stephanopoulos anchored for ABC and Norah O’Donnell anchored for CBS. Gregory was joined by Peter Alexander and Jim Miklaszewski, Stephanopoulos was joined by Jonathan Karl and Martha Raddatz, and O’Donnell was joined by Major Garrett and David Martin.
The cable news networks also provided live coverage. The president did not take questions from the press.