Gates says there may be some U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014

It sounds like the administration is starting the process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan this summer, but when that process ends is anyone's guess.

The U.S., its allies and the Afghanistan government have agreed to end combat operations in 2014, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that a residual force may stay beyond that date to help train Afghan forces.

"Obviously it would be a small fraction of the presence that we have today, but I think we're willing to do that," Gates told U.S. troops during a surprise visit to Bagram air field. "My sense is, they (Afghan officials) are interested in having us do that."

It should be noted that the U.S. still has troops in Europe and Japan, more than six decades after the end of World War II.

Gates made the trip so that he can assess his recommendation of how many troops to pull out of Afghanistan starting in July, a Pentagon statement said.

When President Obama announced the deployment of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan in December of 2009, he also said he would begin the process of withdrawal in July 2011.

That moment is fast approaching.

In his remarks at Bagram, Gates encouraged the troops.

"I know you've had a tough winter, and it's going to be a tougher spring and summer, but you've made a lot of headway," Gates said. "I think you've proven, with your Afghan partners, that this thing is going to work and that we'll be able to prevail."