Afghanistan War News Updates -- August 24, 2011

REGIONAL EAST VISIT - U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistsan, visits U.S., French and Afghan troops during a visit to Regional Command East in Afghanistan's Kapisa province, Aug. 18, 2011. Allen received operational briefings, watched capability demonstrations and thanked troops for their service and sacrifice. The troops are assigned to forward operating bases Nejrab and Tagab. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Michael O'Connor

U.S., Afghanistan Close to Deal Keeping U.S. Forces There Through 2024 -- Michael Tennant, New American

Although the Obama administration has made much of the fact that U.S. forces are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, it clearly has no intention of leaving that war-ravaged country to its own devices. In fact, plans are afoot to keep as many as 25,000 American troops in Afghanistan for at least a decade longer than the official deadline, according to the Daily Telegraph.

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More News On Afghanistan

FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, Aug 24 -- Alertnet
Coalition Troops Provide Aid for Injured Afghans -- US Department of Defense
ISAF Joint Command morning operational update -- Dvids
Afghan police kill 14 insurgents, detain 35 -- Xinhuanet
Senior Taliban Leader Killed In Afghanistan -- RTT News
Karzai Denounces Use of Child Suicide Bombers -- New York Times/AP
Billions Spent on Afghan Police but Brutality,corruption Prevail -- New York Times/Reuters
Afghanistan fights population growth with birth control -- Reuters
U.N. welcomes Kabul's political moves -- UPI
Kabul not an easy target for Taliban any more? -- Rediff
Tired Taliban bide their time -- William Marsden, The Gazette
The Talibanization of Central Afghanistan -- Erin Fitzgerald, Huffington Post
Afghanistan: Failing war breeding poverty -- Rawa News
'There is a real sense of despair in Afghanistan right now' -- Times of India
The Tet Offensive's parallels to Afghanistan -- Richard Falk, Al Jazeera
US military deaths in Afghanistan at 1,634 -- AP
Factbox: Military deaths in Afghanistan -- Reuters