Leading United States officials have said the American military
will continue its presence in Afghanistan for a number of years
despite beginning to withdraw in 2011.
In a series of media reappearances,
officials stressed that the date should be seen
as the beginning of handing over responsibility to Afghan forces.
Imtiaz Tyab report from Washington.
Speaking on a Sunday morning political chat show,
the Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that
despite President Obama's plan to begin
withdrawing the troops from the region in July, 2011,
the US was likely to maintain a significant military presence in Afghanistan
for a number of years.
The Defense Secretary said
the pullout date was said
to underline the urgent need for the Afghans
to speed up recruiting and training soldiers
and getting them into the field.
A comment's followed criticism from opposition Republicans
who say announcing a withdraw date
sent a dangerous signal to insurgents.