With President Obama's promised July troop drawdown nearing, the Pentagon is requesting that the surge continue until Fall 2012. The military wants a large number of the extra 33,000 soldiers, sent in December 2009, to remain in Afghanistan through the next two fighting seasons. The U.S. has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, and outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates says only a “small fraction” will remain after December 2014.
