President Obama's decision to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan by 34,000 by this time next year still gives the coalition enough muscle to support Afghan security forces as they battle through another fighting season this summer while staying on track to wrap up the combat mission in two years, military officials and analysts say. Obama has urged Congress to back government action to revive the sluggish US economy, in his annual State of the Union speech. The Democratic president promised "smarter" rather than bigger government for "the many, and not just the few". He also called for action on gun violence, climate change and immigration reform. In the Republican response, Senator Marco Rubio urged Mr Obama to drop his "obsession" with raising taxes. Speaking in the House of Representatives, Mr Obama told his audience that his generation's task was "to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a rising, thriving middle class". Mr Obama proposed reforms to reduce the cost of Medicare, a federal healthcare programme for pensioners, but argued "we can't just cut our way to prosperity". In his speech, Mr Obama went on to call for federal investment in infrastructure, clean energy and education. And he vowed to act on climate change himself if Congress failed to enact legislation.
