Afghanistan War News Updates -- September 5, 2009

U.S. Marines and Afghan national army soldiers return from a six-hour firefight after insurgents ambushed their patrol in the Garmsir district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 13, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Kurt Stahl

Defining Moment For Afghanistan -- BBC

Election officials in Afghanistan are still counting votes, but say President Hamid Karzai is moving closer to the 50% threshold which would represent victory. But they also have more than 2,000 claims of fraud to investigate. The BBC's Chris Morris in Kabul says the outcome will be critical for Afghanistan.

On a hill overlooking Kabul, where the mountains of the Hindu Kush loom in the distance, there is a terraced rose garden.

It is a place of peace in a country still struggling with conflict.

In the late afternoon sun, people come up here to get out of the dusty city centre, to sit and watch the rooftops below, or perhaps to fly a kite.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Afghanistan Civilians Hit, Straining US Alliance -- Wall Street Journal
NATO probes airstrike on tankers in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
NATO seeks to calm Afghans after deadly air strike -- Yahoo News/Reuters
NATO Investigates Air Strike in Afghanistan -- U.S. Defense Department
NATO Probing Deadly Airstrike -- Washington Post
NATO Chief Orders Investigation into Airstrike Deaths of Afghan Villagers -- The Times
Afghan Air Strike Kills Civilians, May Hurt PR -- Washington Times
Afghan Officials Say NATO Airstrike Killed Mostly Civilians -- L.A. Times
NATO Strike Magnifies Divide on Afghan War -- New York Times
UN planning summit in Afghanistan next spring -- Reuters
UN to host post-election summit in Kabul -- AP
New Afghan 'poll frauds' emerge -- BBC
Afghanistan postpones latest vote result release -- AFP
Afghan election results delayed by row over fraudulent votes -- The Telegraph
Dems signal resistance to Afghan troop increase -- Yahoo News/AP
Gates Says Obama is Reviewing War Report -- Stars And Stripes
Afghanistan Assessment Looks to Defeat al-Qaida -- U.S. Department of Defense
Pentagon Seeks Stability in Afghanistan Deployments -- Christian Science Monitor
US surge likely in Afghan conflict -- The Australian
Brown Says UK Troops to Stay in Afghanistan -- Wall Street Journal/AP
Brown Pledges to Maintain Britain’s Afghan Force -- New York Times
Afghanistan Campaign 'Crucial' to Protect Britain, says Gordon Brown -- The Telegraph
Gordon Brown says Britain is Doing the 'Right Thing' in Afghanistan -- Times Online
Brown: Afghan Aims 'Realistic' -- BBC
Firm Fires US Embassy Guards in Kabul -- Wall Street Journal
After Scandal, State Dept. Cleaning House in Kabul -- Washington Post
U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan Fires Lewd Guards -- FOX News
Opium Trade: Blooming Financial Support -- FOX News
Top EU official calls for stricter Afghan aid rules -- Yahoo News/AFP
In Afghanistan, Let's Keep It Simple -- Ahmed Rashid, Washington Post opinion
Reliving the Past -- Bob Herbert, New York Times opinion
Barack Obama As Charlie Wilson? -- Stephen G. Rademaker, Washington Post opinion.
A Dangerous Delusion -- Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review opinion
A Stable Pakistan Needs a Stable Afghanistan -- Frederick W. Kagan, Wall Street Journal opinion
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 738 -- Yahoo News/AP