Afghanistan War News Updates -- May 10, 2011

GRAPE GUARD - U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Cesaitis secures a grape-drying house before members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul and the U.S. Agriculture Department enter during a visit to a village near the city of Qalat in Afghanistan's Zabul province, May 8, 2011. Cesaitis is assigned to the reconstruction team. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Military Draws Up Afghan Exit Plan -- Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—U.S. military officers in Afghanistan have drawn up preliminary proposals to withdraw as many as 5,000 troops from the country in July and as many as 5,000 more by the year's end, the first phase of a U.S. pullout promised by President Barack Obama, officials say.

The proposals, prepared by staff officers in Kabul, are likely to be the subject of fierce internal debate in the White House, State Department and Pentagon—a discussion influenced by calculations about how Osama bin Laden's death will affect the Afghan battlefield.

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More News On Afghanistan

Officials: Insurgents Hit Afghan Police in North -- New York Times/AP
Hundreds Of Taliban Attack Police In Northeastern Afghanistan -- Radio Free Europe
400 Taliban attack police in Nuristan province -- Examiner
Hundreds of Taliban attack police in eastern Afghanistan -- M&C

Romanian Soldier Killed In Afghanistan -- RTT News
Romanian soldier dies in a blast while inspecting a footbridge in southern Afghanistan -- Canadian Press/AP
NATO Forces Launch Border Operations in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
U.S.-Pakistan Flare-Up Threatens Troop Supply Route -- NPR
U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan predicts little short-term change -- Washington Post

Strain on forces in the field at a five-year high -- USA Today
U.S. issues warning, violence grows across Afghanistan -- Reuters
US-Led Alliance Concentrates on Afghan Population Centers -- Voice of America

Afghan Special Ops Units a Key to US Exit -- New York Times/AP
US training and fighting alongside Afghan special ops forces, a picture of the war to come -- Washington Post

Afghan forces not ready for security role, Oxfam warns -- BBC
Time Running Out to Prepare Afghan Security Forces-Oxfam -- New York Times/AP
Rights abuses by Afghan forces grow: Oxfam -- DAWN/AFP
Time running out to prepare Afghan security forces - Oxfam -- Reuters
Afghan police committing crimes with impunity, warns Oxfam -- The Telegraph
AFGHANISTAN: Doubts grow over replacing the foreign troops -- IRIN

US has non-Pakistan supply routes for Afghan war -- Reuters
Supply lines are secure to Afghanistan -- Scotsman
We Don’t Need Pakistan Routes to Supply US Soldiers in Afghanistan: Pentagon -- IBTimes

Campbell 1-star sees progress in Afghanistan -- Army Times
Strike Gives Obama Some Leeway on War Strategy -- Wall Street Journal
Lawmakers write letter to Obama on Afghanistan withdrawal -- Washington Post
Bipartisan group to Obama: forget nation building -- Politico
Rasmussen Poll: 56% Want to Bring Troops Home From Afghanistan -- Newsmax