This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

Obama to announce Afghanistan troop withdrawal, as war support falls

Sharp rise in number backing U.S. Troop Pullout (Pew)

On Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama will announce the withdrawal of some of the 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. Speculation is that he’ll announced the withdrawal of between 5,000 and 15,000 troops by the end of this year. USA Today

Support for the war in Afghanistan has been collapsing rapidly. For the first time, a majority (56%) says that U.S. troops should be brought home as soon as possible, while 39% favor keeping troops in Afghanistan until the situation has stabilized. The proportion favoring a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces has increased by eight points since last month (from 48%), immediately after the killing of Osama bin Laden. A year ago, just 40% favored removing the troops as soon as possible, while 53% favored keeping them in Afghanistan until the situation stabilized. Pew Research Center

Yemen’s president Saleh still in unknown state of health

After the attack on his life, aides to President Ali Abdullah Saleh said that he would return from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia “in a few days.” It’s now been several weeks, and they’re still saying that he’ll return to Yemen in a few days. But other sources say that Saleh is having “difficulties breathing and moving,” and that he’s undergoing surgery in the intensive care unit of a military hospital. AFP

Israel approves building of 1,200 new homes in Gaza

Israel has approved the importing of a large enough volume of building materials into Gaza to allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to build 1,200 new homes and 18 schools. This is one of the largest housing projects that the Gaza Strip has seen in years. VOA

Syria’s regime complains about biased media

Pro-Assad demonstrators in Damascus (SANA)

Syria’s state run news service is complaining that al-Jazeera, al-Arabiya, the BBC, and other news channels are continuing “their broadcast of fabricated lies” and favoring “those seeking to destabilize Syria,” ignoring the millions of pro-regime protesters. Instead, “full time coverage is dedicated for alleged anti-system protests supposedly taking place in the alleys of some Syrian areas shown in shaky and blurry pictures reflecting the views of the agendas they are connected with.” Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)

New flotilla aims to break Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza

“Freedom Flotilla II,” consisting of around 10 ships carrying 500-600 pro-Palestinian activists from 22 countries, will sail from various Mediterranean ports around June 20, with the objective of breaking Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza. The U.S. boat, the Audacity of Hope, will have 36 passengers, including 10 American Jews. “It’s important that Jews are in this boat… The Jewish lobby in this country is so powerful,” said a spokeswoman. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is discouraging the new flotilla, out of fear it could degenerate into violence. VOA