US: Up to 70,000 more Afghan forces needed

The Obama administration is considering proposals to increase the size of the Afghan security forces by between 45,000 and 70,000, amid worries about how much Afghanistan can absorb and what the US can afford.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Senate committee Thursday that the US will spend $12.8 billion in 2012 to train and equip the Afghan forces, a sum that cannot be carried indefinitely. (AP)