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WASHINGTON — Gen. John R. Allen, the senior American commander in Afghanistan, has submitted military options to the Pentagon that would keep 6,000 to 20,000 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014, defense officials said on Wednesday.

General Allen offered Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta three plans with different troop levels: 6,000, 10,000 and 20,000, each with a risk factor probably attached to it, a senior military official said. An option of 6,000 troops would probably pose a higher risk of failure for the American effort in Afghanistan, 10,000 would be medium risk and 20,000 would be lower risk, the official said.

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ISAF Joint Command operational update, Jan 3 -- ISAF
Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan -- AP
Explosive Device in Afghanistan Kills Danish Soldier -- Almanar
NATO Soldier Killed In Southern Afghanistan -- RTT
NATO soldier die following blast in southern Afghanistan -- Khaama Press
2012 Is First Year With No German Deaths In Afghanistan -- Ares/Aviation Week

Karzai to share key demands of Afghanistan in US visit -- Khaama Press
DOD: Obama to decide U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan soon -- Foreign Policy
Allen outlines U.S. options in Afghanistan -- UPI

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AFGHANISTAN: Bleak humanitarian outlook for 2013 -- RAWA

Assessing the White House’s Options for Post-2014 Afghanistan -- Max Boot, Commentary
Danger lies between the lines of a U.S. Army contract in Afghanistan -- Walter Pincus, Washington Post
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Is peace really in the air in Afghanistan? -- Jim Maceda, NBC
Blood Line: Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Unspoken Border Dispute -- Amir Ramin and Nadia Siddiqui, World Policy Blog
Afghanistan Now -- Bing West, NRO
US military deaths in Afghanistan top 2,000 -- Salon/AP
US Military Deaths in Afghanistan at 2,043 -- ABC