Afghanistan

GEN ALLEN_WEB_20121113_0004

**FILE** Marine Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, listens during a March 26, 2012, news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. (Associated Press)

**FILE** Gen. John Allen (left), and Army Gen. David Petraeus (center), top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and incoming CIA Director, greet former CIA Director and new U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he lands in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 9, 2011. (Associated Press)

GEN ALLEN_WEB_20121113_0001

**FILE** U.S. Gen. John Allen, top commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, speaks July 22, 2012, during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Associated Press)

ALLEN.jpg

** FILE ** This July 22, 2012, file photo shows U.S. Gen. John Allen, top commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)

20121112-230852-pic-722845394.jpg

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Monday the Obama administration is close to a decision on how many American troops will stay in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led combat mission ends in 2014, noting the decision could come in the “next few weeks.” (Associated Press)

PETRAEUS_WEB_20121112_0001

U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, then-commander of the International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, shakes hands with Paula Broadwell, co-author of "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus," in a July 13, 2011, photo from the ISAF's Flickr website. (Associated Press/International Security Assistance Force) ** FILE **

Obama Veterans Day_Reps.jpg

While at Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day ceremonies, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited Section 60, the site where many of America's most recent war dead from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts are buried, in Arlington, Va., Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

d7c3da4eb2417f1f200f6a70670037fd.jpg

Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and soon-to-be Director of CIA, conducts a question and answer session with the media, traveling with the new U.S. Defense Secretary, Saturday, July 9, 2011, at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Paul J. Richards, Pool)

PETRAEUS_5959_20110831

**FILE** Davis Petraeus, former Commander of International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan general, stands with his wife, Holly, as he participates in an Armed Forces farewell tribute and retirement ceremony on Aug. 31, 2011, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va. (Associated Press)

AFGHAN_POLICE103120

In this Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 photo, a police instructor passes by a wall painting at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

AFGHAN_POLICE103119

Afghan police officers line up to wash their hands before breakfast at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

AFGHAN_POLICE103118

Police officers line up to take their tea pots for breakfast at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The readiness of AfghanistanÃs security forces is central to U.S. and NATO plans to withdraw all forces from the country by the end of 2014, and the academyÃs new commander wants to help turn around a 146,000-strong national police force long riddled with corruption, incompetence and factional rivalries. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)