General Allen: U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan

"Speaking in Washington, Allen said he had never been asked to produce a report on the so-called "zero option" – the suggestion that no American troops would remain after the 2014 deadline, floated by one White House adviser in January." "Speculation on the size of the force ranges from about 6,000 through to 20,000. Allen offered Obama various options about force size before retiring last month. He ruled out a full pullout, an option the White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes had said in January was on the table." "Sometimes this comes as a surprise when I say this: that on January 1 2015, there's still going to be fighting in Afghanistan," Allen said." (thanks Amir)