Afghanistan War News Updates -- July 16, 2010

BROWNOUT - An MV-22B Osprey lands in brownout conditions during a routine mission in Afghanistan, July 15, 2010. Osprey and other helicopter pilots face these types of landings daily as they support Afghan and international forces across Helmand and Nimroz provinces in southern Afghanistan. Pilots and crew chiefs have to determine how close the ground is and look for obstacles through the billowing dust. The Osprey is assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Steven Williams

In Targeting Taliban Stronghold, U.S. Depends On Afghans' Reluctant Support -- Washington Post

ZHARI DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN -- The battle for this rural Taliban stronghold is not about killing insurgents, U.S. military officials say. It is about getting the new district governor to stop the grenades.

Soon after Karim Jan assumed the post in June, the explosives began sailing over mud walls and onto U.S. troops patrolling the labyrinth of Senjaray, the biggest town in a district that U.S. officials say is under near-complete Taliban control. Two weeks later, five soldiers had been wounded in a half-dozen strikes. The attacks amounted to a test: Would Senjaray's elders side with Jan or the Taliban?

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More News On Afghanistan

2 US troops killed by bomb blast in Afghanistan -- AP
NATO Airstrike Kills Taliban Commander, Police Say -- New York Times/AP
NATO Strike Kills Taliban Commander in Northern Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Afghan 'killer' of UK troops tells BBC he acted alone -- BBC
Afghanistan-bound tankers come under fire -- UPI
Taliban attacks in Afghanistan show growing sophistication -- Montreal Gazette/McClatchy News
NATO Launches Afghan Intelligence - Sharing Drive -- New York Times/Reuters
In Afghanistan, the U.S. Goes Local to Fight the Taliban -- Time Magazine
Petraeus’ First Big Afghanistan Gamble: Militias Local Cops -- The Danger Room

Clinton to Seek Signs Of Progress In Afghanistan -- New York Times/Reuters
Afghanistan Pushes at UN to Encourage Taliban Reconciliation -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Arrests made over ‘direct threat’ to Kabul conference: NATO -- Daily Times

FACTBOX-A look at the costs of Afghan war to U.S. taxpayers -- Reuters
Outside View: Cynical thoughts about Afghanistan -- UPI analysis
It worked in Iraq, but success in Afghanistan is less certain -- Kim Sengupta, The Independent
Pick your tribes: Rules for winning in Afghanistan -- Ralph Peters, New York Post