Afghanistan troops: Decision time for Obama
President Obama has held his ninth and last meeting on strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and after months of deliberating he's ready to make an . We expect it to be a big speech on Tuesday, during TV prime time, which means around 8pm Eastern Standard Time (0100 GMT). He could make it from the Oval Office, or in front of troops.
While some Republicans have criticised the president for dithering, envoy to the region , who had a junior ringside seat during LBJ's critical decisions about Vietnam and was of course deeply involved in Bosnia and Kosovo, said recently that it has been "the most tough, sustained, thoughtful process I have every seen: exactly the way decisions should be made".
By the end of next week comments on the process will give way to debate on the substance, about the decision itself.
If he does decide to increase troop numbers, the reaction from his own party will be all important. Many resent the commitment and the cost, and think the American people are with them.
If the president sets his face against his own most loyal supporters, it could set a tone that make a real difference to his whole administration.
Already one is calling for a new tax on the rich to pay for the war.
A thoughtful piece in argues that Obama should be the first Democratic president to buck the trend and refuse to ramp up a war to appease the right, and another commentator sets out the speech he wishes the president would make ending the war.
He won't do that, but he will be talking about an end game.
The president has repeatedly made the point that this decision is about far more than troop numbers, and he'll be crafting the speech to make sure its not the only headline.
He's also said time and time again that this is not an "open-ended" commitment, and how and when troops will be withdrawn are expected to be a big part of the announcement.
The handover to Afghan police and army could be rolled out region by region.
There is also a suggestion that there will be what have become know in the jargon as "exit ramps", which translates as "slipways" in British English: ways of getting out sooner if the Afghan government doesn't live up to its promises.
The world has been waiting a while for this decision. When it comes it will tell us a lot about this president.
I’m Mark Mardell, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
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