Sunday, June 19, 2011

Afghanistan War News Updates -- June 19, 2011



Obama Expected To Unveil Afghan Drawdown Plan Next Week -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is expected to unveil his U.S. troop reduction plan for Afghanistan next week, buoyed by assessments by senior defense officials that the U.S. war strategy is headed in the right direction and has weakened the Taliban-led insurgency.

But some U.S. officials in Washington and in Afghanistan are concerned that many of the gains aren't sustainable, and conditions are too fragile to allow for the "significant" troop drawdown that Obama is being pressured to begin next month by some top aides and growing numbers of lawmakers of both parties.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Obama, military leaders weigh Afghanistan war strategy -- Sign On San Diego

Taliban, U.S. Talks ‘Very Preliminary,’ Will Take Months, Gates Tells CNN -- Bloomberg
Headway in Taliban talks may be months off: Gates -- Reuters
Gates: Military pressure key to talks with Taliban -- AP

Karzai confirms U.S.-Taliban talks as insurgents kill 9 -- McClatchy News
America has opened peace talks with Taliban, says Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- The Telegraph
U.S. in peace talks with Taliban, Karzai says -- Washington Post
Lashing Out, Karzai Says U.S. Is Talking to the Taliban -- New York Times
Mullah Omar key for US in Afghan talks: Experts -- Straits Times
U.S. has contacted Taliban about an Afghan peace deal -- L.A. Times
How the U.S. Came to Negotiate with the Taliban -- The Atlanic
U.S. Ambassador Responds to Karzai’s Criticisms -- New York Times

UN splits Taliban and al-Qaeda on sanctions blacklist -- BBC
U.N. Security Council splits Taliban-al Qaeda sanctions list -- CNN
U.N. Separates Sanctions for Al-Qaida And Taliban -- NPR/AP
Afghan Efforts at Taliban Reconciliation Get Boost From UN -- Bloomberg
Decouple Taliban from al-Qaida? -- UPI

Where the Afghan war is fought hardest -- Yahoo News/AP
Suicide bomber targets NATO convoy, kills 3 civilians in Afghanistan -- CNN
Explosion Strikes German Convoy in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Suicide attack on Kabul police station kills nine -- Reuters
Gunfight Shatters Calm Spell in Kabul -- New York Times
A look at recent attacks in the Afghan capital -- Yahoo News/AP

Ex-British envoy sees war as wrong focus in Afghanistan -- L.A. Times
Iran Defense Chief in Kabul as Afghans Eye Security -- New York Times/Reuters
Afghanistan says will deal with IMF crisis after summer holiday -- Yahoo News/Reuters
World Bank Is Withholding $70 Million as Afghans Try to Resolve a Scandal -- New York Times
Costly Afghan weddings under government scrutiny -- Yahoo News/AP

Even hawkish Rep. Dicks seeks end to Afghan war
-- McClatchy News
Taliban talks: the new mirage in Afghanistan -- Reuters
Defining Victory in Afghanistan -- Oliver North, FOX News
A sensible way forward in Afghanistan -- Miami Herald/L.A. Times editorial
Battlefield reporter says: Afghanistan is making undeniable progress, but it could all unravel -- Michael Yon, New York Daily News

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