Afghanistan War News Updates -- February 9, 2012

The Winter War -- Al Jazeera

In the frozen peaks of Afghanistan's Kunar province, a ferocious clash for supremacy rages amid the mountaintops.

Barack Obama, the US president, has pledged to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan by 2014, with other NATO nations set to pull out their troops before that date and overall responsibility for security gradually being handed to the Afghan National Army and police.

Following the announcement last month from the Taliban that they are prepared to open a political office in Qatar - a step which may facilitate a move towards negotiations and a peaceful settlement - many people hope that the end of Afghanistan's long and brutal war may just be in sight.

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More News On Afghanistan

Combined Force Captures Taliban Leaders -- US Department of Defense
ISAF Joint Command morning operational update - February 9, 2012 -- ISAF
War In Afghanistan News 9 February 2012 -- War On Terror News
Several Taliban, Haqqani Militants Held In Afghan Joint Operations -- RTT News
Taliban Killing of Afghans Rose in 2011, General Says -- US Department of Defense
Afghan War Coalition Braces for Renewed Fight Amid Troop Cuts -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Military Says US Forces Will Still Fight Taliban Next Year -- US News and World Report
Joint Command Boss Says ISAF Has Momentum to Succeed -- US Department of Defense
General says US military will begin sending special advisory teams to Afghanistan this year -- Washington Post/AP
General: ‘Use drones to kill’ the Taliban in Pakistan -- Washington Times
Marines in Helmand partner, mentor in Now Zad -- Dvids
Marine ‘Bastards’ do a magnificent job -- Dvids

Pentagon: Even 'Independent' Afghan Battalions Still Rely on NATO -- National Journal
Operational commander: Despite perception, Afghan forces will be 'good enough' -- Stars and Stripes
U.S.: Afghan forces will be ‘good enough’ -- Washington Times
Afghan forces will be 'good enough' to take over: US -- AFP
Pentagon: Even ‘independent’ Afghan battalions still rely on NATO -- Government Executive
Afghan forces in lead, but not in control -- CNN

Second-in-Command Discounts Negative Views of Afghan War -- US News and World Report
General Defends War Progress Despite ‘Whistleblower’ Account -- Military.com
US Defends Progress in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Pentagon Counters Dim Assessment of Afghan War -- New York Times

Troops seized 772K lbs. of Afghan drugs in 2011 -- Army Times
US soldiers train for agricultural mission in Afghanistan -- FOX News
War, red tape, corruption pull rug from under Afghan carpet business -- Reuters

U.S. Strategy For Afghan War Reaches Critical Stage -- Renee Montagne and Tom Bowman, NPR (Audio)
U.S. Afghanistan Victory Actually Returns Taliban To Power -- IBD Editorial
The Afghanistan equation: U.S. + Taliban + Pakistan = peace? -- Peter Tomsen, L.A. Times
Uncovering the Sadness of Young Deaths (Photo Gallery) -- New York Times
How to Help Kabul’s Refugees -- Rod Nordland, New York Times
Afghanistan's Opium Child Brides -- The Atlantic