Out of Afghanistan, Into Oil Reserves.

Bringing the Boys Home

Two major announcements by the White House included the president's plan to deploy 10,000 troops from Afghanistan, beginning this summer.

In keeping with his commitment to draw down U.S forces this July, President Obama addressed the nation last evening to explain:

"Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment. Thanks to our extraordinary men and women in uniform, our civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our goals", the president said. "As a result, starting next month, we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point. After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security."

While many Americans are in favor of bringing U.S. troops home (and who wouldn't be?), members of both the Republican and Democratic parties express their 'dissatisfaction' with the number of troops the president is planning to start with.

Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., supportive of President Obama's statement said, “The president’s decision represents a positive development, although in my view the conditions on the ground justify an even larger drawdown of U.S. troops this year than the president announced tonight. I will continue to advocate for an accelerated drawdown in the months ahead, and for enhanced training and partnering with Afghan forces, said Levin.

68,000 troops were in Afghanistan when the president took office.

The president visited Fort Drum, NY where he met with soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, many of whom have just returned from Afghanistan.  

The president's speech at Fort Drum can be read here.

Tapping Into U.S. Oil Reserves

  

The White House also announced today that the U.S. and its partners in the International Energy Agency have decided to release a total of 60 million barrels of oil onto the world market over the next 30 days to offset the disruption in the oil supply caused by unrest in the Middle East. As part of this effort, the U.S. will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR is currently at a historically high level with 727 million barrels. 

A gas station employee gets down from ladder after changing its station's price at this Alexandria, Virginia station.  Photo/CD Brown.



In a conference call today with reporters, senior White House officials explained that the decision was made  to tap into the reserves based on an “anticipated increase demand for oil in the next few months”.

 

The United States has been in close contact with oil producing and consuming countries about disruptions to the international oil market that could affect the global economy. The situation in Libya has caused a loss of roughly 1.5 million barrels of oil per day – particularly of light, sweet crude – from global markets. As the United States enters the months of July and August, when demand is typically highest, prices remain significantly higher than they were prior to the start of the unrest in Libya.

 

Gas prices have come down almost fifty-cents in some areas, ranging from $3.49 a gallon to prices that still hover around $4.00.

 

"There is no silver bullet", an official explained, commenting on if the decision would help relieve tensions over the seemingly oil crisis that has plagued the U.S. economy for the last year.

 

The White House official said the decision to tap into U.S. oil reserves was one that was brewing for the "last several months".