Few to leave in 2011, Gates says

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates denied Sunday that President Barack Obama had set an exit strategy for Afghanistan, and he forecast only a "handful" of U.S. troops may leave the country in July 2011, when a withdrawal is to begin.

Gates, appearing on television news programs with other senior U.S. officials, said the Obama administration intended to maintain its commitment to Afghanistan, while gradually shifting security responsibilities to the central government.

"This is a transition," Gates said on ABC's "This Week." "We are not talking about an abrupt withdrawal. We are talking about something that will take place over a period of time."

Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser James Jones appeared on the Sunday talk shows in an effort to explain a policy that hopes to satisfy those who want to end the war, as well as those who want to stay until U.S. goals are met.

Obama's decision to set July 2011 as the "inflection point" when U.S. troops will begin to depart has proven the most difficult point to explain to domestic audiences and allied governments. The Afghan, Pakistani and Indian governments are concerned the war-weary United States might sharply scale back its commitment to the region, as it has in the past.