Afghanistan War News Updates -- February 6, 2012

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Galen Murphy-Fahlgren hands candy to Afghan children during a security patrol with Afghan Border Police in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 30, 2012. Murphy-Fahlgren is an anti-tank missileman assigned to Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. In the southern Garmsir district, an area with a history of tribal conflict, the growing Afghan force has deepened its roots and established governance through Marine mentors. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder

U.S. To Elevate Special Operations Forces’ Role In Afghanistan -- Washington Post

The U.S. military is planning to elevate the role of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan as it shifts away from a combat focus to a mission that places greater emphasis on advising Afghan forces and raids to kill top insurgent leaders, senior U.S. officials said.

Initial steps in that direction are likely to take place in the next few months, when the Pentagon is expected to create a new two-star command that would oversee the entire Special Operations effort in Afghanistan. The new command would be led by Maj. Gen. Tony Thomas, the deputy commander of the military’s Joint Special Operations Command, which oversees the military’s elite counterterrorism forces around the world.

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More News On Afghanistan

War In Afghanistan News - 06 FEB 2012 -- War On Terror News
ISAF Joint Command morning operational update - February 5, 2012 -- ISAF
Daily Brief: Afghan civilian deaths rise for fifth straight year -- Foreign Policy
Car bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, kills seven outside police headquarters -- Washington Post
Karzai Condemns Deadly Car Bombing in Southern Afghanistan -- Voice of America
NATO helicopter down in Afghanistan, no one killed -- AP

US to boost Special Forces in Afghanistan - reports -- Herald Sun/Newscore
Special Ops may help U.S. exit Afghanistan earlier -- SFGate/New York Times
US to keep special forces in Afghan even after pullout: report -- Hindustan Times
US to keep special forces in Afghanistan -- AFP

NATO reassures Afghans over combat missions -- Times of Oman/AFP
Black Watch working towards Afghanistan withdrawal -- BBC
Cold is the new killer in Afghanistan -- Montreal Gazette/New York Times

Pakistan vows to help peace efforts in Afghanistan -- AFP
Pakistan PM in Qatar to discuss Afghan peace -- AFP

An Officer and a Whistle-Blower -- New York Times
“Truth, Lies and Afghanistan” -- Mark Thompson, Time
Army Colonel Daniel L. Davis Challenges Pentagon's Afghanistan Reports -- Huffington Post

Taliban can depend on NATO to boost their morale -- Scott Taylor, Chronicle Herald