Obama spoke as military leaders appeared before Congress to discuss the Afghanistan war plan. The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said he had reservations about ending the troop surge this year but said he still supports the President.

Admiral Mike Mullen: “I do not intend to discuss the specifics of the private advice I rendered with respect to these decisions. As I said, I support them. What I can tell you is the President’s decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than I was originally prepared to accept. More force for more time is, without doubt, the safer course.”