Pentagon recommends new Afghan commander to White House

Allen is expected to leave his ISAF post in Afghanistan early
next year for a job at NATO.

{mosads}Allen is currently overseeing the drawdown of 23,000 U.S.
surge troops from Afghanistan, which will leave 68,000 U.S. troops in the fall.

Allen has said that he will begin crafting a plan for the
United States to draw down the 68,000 troops after the surge troops depart. The
Obama administration has not signaled yet how quickly it intends to draw down
the remaining troops ahead of its plan to hand off security control to the
Afghans in 2014, which will be one of the chief issues Allen’s successor
will have to address.

NATO forces are currently tasked with training Afghan forces
to be prepared for the security handoff, as well as the plan to give Afghan forces
the lead in combat operations in 2013. 

That job has been complicated in recent
months amid a spike in “green-on-blue” attacks by Afghan soldiers and policemen
on NATO troops.