Afghanistan War News Updates -- June 2, 2011

FRIENDLY FISTS - U.S. Army soldiers bump fists with Afghan children during a mission to Kuchi village, Afghanistan, May 27, 2011. The soldiers, assigned to the 1775th Military Police Company, were there to distribute radios and flyers, and to evaluate the needs of residents. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Canaan Radcliffe

Petraeus: U.S. Still Needed In Afghanistan -- USA Today

FORWARD OPERATING BASE PASAB, KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The recent progress by American and allied forces against the Taliban and other insurgent groups is "fragile" and "reversible," making the continued presence of American troops in the oft-violent country a continuing necessity, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Wednesday.

Petraeus, who spoke to USA TODAY in an interview at a U.S. military base in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, said that combat operations in the coming weeks and months were crucial to sustaining forces' territorial gains over the last year, most notably in southern Afghanistan — the birthplace of the Taliban and its spiritual leader Mullah Omar.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command morning operational update -- Dvids
U.S. progress in Afghanistan ‘fragile,’ says Petraeus -- The Lookout/Yahoo News
Record NATO deaths in early Afghan fighting season -- AFP
Troops Brace for 'Bloodiest Summer' in Afghanistan -- FOX News
1 German soldier killed in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
Another German soldier killed in Afghanistan -- The Local
6 German soldiers wounded in Afghanistan -- Seattle Times/AP

Al Qaeda leader and bin Laden associate captured in northern Afghanistan -- Long War Journal
Official: Forces arrest bin Laden associate in Afghanistan -- CNN
NATO: former bin Laden associate captured -- Seattle PI/AP

Death of Afghan ethnic minority leaders threaten effort to make peace with Taliban -- Washington Post
Afghan civil unrest threatening peace effort -- Stars and Stripes/AP
General see signs Afghans insurgents disillusioned -- Stars and Stripes/AP
Taliban Aim to Derail Afghan Security Transfer -- New York Times
Marines wrestle with exasperation in battle for hearts and minds -- Stars and Stripes
Obama aide visits Afghanistan before troop review -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Analysis: Afghan army, police need spreadsheets as much as guns -- Reuters

What Kandahar's New Police Chief Says About Afghanistan's Sorry State of Affairs -- Time
Secretary Gates To Discuss The Future Of Afghanistan -- NPR
Gates Sees Taliban Engaged In Talks By Year's End -- NPR
New National Security Team has to Deal with Afghanistan -- CBN
Analysis: White House prepares initial Afghan drawdown -- Reuters
In Afghanistan, Bin Laden’s Dream Lives On -- Middle East Online
Change in Taliban Tactics Not a Result of Pressure -- Huffpost World
The Afghan Debate: Should They Stay or Should They Go? -- Sharifullah Sahak, New York Times
Declaring victory...and abandoning Afghanistan to its opium barons? -- Neil Hrab, Washington Examiner

At least 1,491 US military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 -- Washington Post/AP