WASHINGTON-President Obama said Wednesday that the United States largely had achieved its objectives in Afghanistan, setting in motion a substantial withdrawal of American troops in a confirmation of the threat of displacement in the region and the economic and political landscape in a rapidly changing America tired of war.
The reductions in troop came after a short but fierce internal debate. 
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Kabul and American soldiers in the Afghan province of Khost on Wednesday. President Obama established an accelerated withdrawal timetable.Assert that the country that served as base for the September 11, 2001 attacks no longer represented a terrorist threat to the United States, Mr. Obama declared that the "tide of the war is receding." And in a blunt acknowledgment of national economic strains, he said, "America, it is time to focus on building the nation here at home."
Mr. Obama announced plans to withdraw the 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. The remaining 20,000 troops from the 2009 "wave" of forces would leave next summer, amounting to about one third of the 100,000 troops in the country now. He said the withdrawal would continue "steadily" until the United States handed over security to Afghan authorities in 2014.
The troop reductions, which were decided on after a short but fierce internal debate, will be deeper and faster than the recommendations made by military commanders of Mr. Obama, and they will come as President faces relentless budget pressures, an American public increasingly uneasy and a re-election campaign next year.
Just hours later spoke of Mr. Obama, President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday that he also would begin to draw down the 4,000 strong French contingent in Afghanistan.
"Taking into account the progress that we have seen, that France will begin a gradual withdrawal of troops sent to Afghanistan, strengthening proportionally and in a timeframe comparable to the withdrawal of American reinforcements," Mr. Sarkozy said in a statement issued by his Office, Reuters reported.
Mr. Obama, speaking in tones methodical during a speech of 15 minutes from the East Room of the White House, spoke of ending the longest war of America and of the painful lessons that he thought could be withdrawn. At the same time that justifies the commitment of the nation's decade, he spoke of "ending the war with responsibility" and warned of the dangers of overextending the military by sending large numbers of soldiers in combat. He acknowledged that the enormous challenges remained before ending the conflict which cost hundreds of billions of dollars and 1,500 American lives.
Withdrawals would begin winding down of military counterinsurgency strategy, which Mr. Obama approved for 18 months. Administration officials have indicated that they planned to put more emphasis on clandestine counterterrorism operations focused of the type that killed Osama bin Laden, who the President cited as Annex A, in the case of a substantial reduction of American troops.
"We are starting this survey from a position of strength", said Mr. Obama. "Al Qaeda is at a pressure greater than at any time since 9/11". He said an intense campaign of drone strikes and other covert operations in Pakistan had crippled the original network of Al Qaeda in the region, leaving its leaders killed or pinned down in the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Of the 30 leading Qaeda identified by American intelligence, 20 were killed in the past year and a half, administration officials said.
But the withdrawal of the entire wave force until the end of next summer will change significantly the way the United States wages war in Afghanistan, said analysts, suggesting that the Administration may have concluded can no longer achieve its ambitions over there.
Mr. Obama recognized both in their comments. "Don't try to make Afghanistan a perfect place," he said. "We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely. It is the responsibility of the Afghan Government. "
Thom Shanker and Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting from Washington and Alissa j. Rubin from Kabul, Afghanistan.
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