By James Oliphant
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested Sunday that only a small portion of the U.S. force in Afghanistan will begin to return home next year, when an Obama administration deadline for a troop pullout goes into effect.
“Drawdowns early on will be of fairly limited numbers,” Gates said in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.” “It will depend on the conditions on the ground.”
In calling for a surge of troops in the region, President Barack Obama set July 2011 as the time when the Pentagon would begin to reduce forces, ostensibly with Afghanistan more secure from the threat of the Taliban.