WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said he believes President Barack Obama is inclined toward a "robust reduction" in U.S. troops in Afghanistan this summer.

"I believe it was going to be robust in any event," Levin told reporters in a conference call, speaking of Obama's plans to start a drawdown this July of some of the roughly 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

But Levin also believed this robustness would be "reinforced by events" -- meaning the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)