By REUTERS
WASHINGTON - The US Senate voted on Wednesday to require President Barack Obama to devise a plan for expediting the pullout of US troops from Afghanistan, signaling growing impatience in Congress.Obama in June called for about a third of US forces, or 33,000 troops, to leave Afghanistan by the end of next summer. The remaining 66,000 US troops are to be slowly withdrawn until a final transition to Afghan security control in 2014.The Democratic-controlled Senate's vote for accelerating that drawdown came on an amendment to an annual defense bill, but the chances of the requirement becoming law are slim.A similar demand for an accelerated transition of military operations from US to Afghan authorities was narrowly defeated in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in May.
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