Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 4, 2009

FOREIGN RELATIONS - Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., Dec. 3, 2009. The testimony focused on President Barack Obama's decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to the war in Afghanistan. DoD photo U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Gates: 'No Deadlines' On Troop Withdrawal -- Washington Post

Afghanistan drawdown could take 2 to 3 years, defense secretary says

The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, scheduled to begin in July 2011, will "probably" take two or three years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday, although he added that "there are no deadlines in terms of when our troops will all be out."

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More News On Afghanistan

US Marines launch large offensive -- Yahoo News/AP
Marines Launch New Offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand Province -- ABC News
New Afghan push takes aim at militants -- CNN
Marines, Afghan soldiers attack Taliban-held city -- L.A. Times

US Officials Say Conditions Will Determine Pace of Afghanistan Withdrawal -- Voice of America
Gates Says Afghan Drawdown Timing Is Flexible -- New York Times
Chairman Explains Significance of July 2011 Target -- U.S. Department of Defense
Gates says target date for withdrawal from Afghanistan might be revised -- Financial Times
Obama Homed in on an Afghanistan Pullout Date -- L.A. Times
Surge Strategy Borrows From Bush Argument -- Wall Street Journal

Clinton to Press NATO Allies on Afghanistan Effort -- New York Times
Hillary Clinton: All nations must play a part in Afghanistan mission -- The Telegraph
Governments Pledge Additional Troops -- Wall Street Journal
Italy May Add 1,000 Extra Troops in Afghanistan -- New York Times
NATO allies commit 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/Reuters
US allies offer 7,000 troops for Afghan surge -- Yahoo News/AP
Support the Afghan war, says U.K. Army chief -- The Independent
Controversy Makes Canada a Reluctant Coalition Partner -- Wall Street Journal

Surge force of 30,000 going to Afghanistan will grow to 33,000, Defense Secretary Gates says -- New York Daily News
Gates: Afghanistan surge could require more than 30,000 troops -- Christian Science Monitor

McChrystal tells Afghans U.S. not leaving yet -- Reuters
Main Afghanistan Threat Remains in South, East, Mullen Says -- U.S. Department of Defense

Afghans See Sharp Shift in US Tone -- New York Times
Gates Re-emphasizes Need for Afghan, Pakistani Engagement -- U.S. Department of Defense
Pakistanis Don't Like Obama's Afghan Plan -- Voice of America

Commentaries And Analysis

Our Timeline, and the Taliban’s -- Max Hastings, New York Times
Obama's Other War -- Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journal
Afghanistan: the clock is ticking for Obama as the Taliban bides its time -- Con Coughlin, The Telegraph
Obama's surge speech offers two messages: one to placate the right, one to assuage the left -- Charles Krauthammer, New York Daily News
Can Afghan forces assume security responsibility as Obama expected? -- Wang Yan, China View
A Plan in Need of Clarity -- Jim Webb, Washington Post
Obama's Case to Make -- Michael Gerson, Washington Post
A New Momentum for Afghanistan -- Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Washington Post