Obama says tough decisions soon on Iraq, Afghan wars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States must make tough decisions soon about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday after receiving his first briefing from the heads of the U.S. armed forces. Obama, who is weighing accelerating the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and boosting U.S. forces in Afghanistan, was speaking after a nearly two-hour meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.