Afghanistan War News Updates -- May 17, 2012

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Michael Yesunas chats with children while members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Kunar conduct quality checks and speak to residents as part of a patrol in Afghanistan's Kunar province, May 12, 2012. Yesunas, a naval helicopter pilot, is the team's commander. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Marasky

Afghan Insurgent Attacks Down: A Sign Of Widening Taliban Fractures? -- Christain Science Monitor

An independent monitoring group says insurgent attacks in Afghanistan are down 43 percent compared with this time last year.

Afghan and NATO leaders will gather in Chicago this weekend to discuss the future of security in Afghanistan as international troops prepare to end combat operations in 2014.

Throughout the past decade, international conferences about the Afghan conflict like this one have become a fixture on the international political landscape, though often producing opaque results.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command morning operational update - May 17, 2012 -- ISAF
Insurgents storm governor's office in western Afghanistan -- McClatchy News
Suicide attack on provincial governor's compound in Afghanistan kills 7 -- CNN
Haqqani Leader Detained In Afghanistan -- RTT
Afghanistan conflict: Rise of 'green on blue' deaths -- BBC
Survivors recall horror of night Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly shot up Afghan village -- McClatchy News
German troops face post-war trauma after Afghanistan -- Deutsce Welle

Allen: NATO Summit to Define ‘Vision’ for Afghanistan -- US Department of Defense
Ahead of NATO's Chicago summit, members eye the Afghan exits -- L.A. Times
NATO's rush for exit risks Afghan collapse: report -- AFP
U.S. path out of Afghanistan faces risks -- Reuters

Asking a Skeptical Europe to Open Its Wallet for Afghanistan -- New York Times
Afghanistan demands $4.1 billion a year -- The Australian
Afghanistan Demands $4.1 Billion A Year; Plans To Sell Islamic Bonds -- International Business Times
Afghanistan mulls Islamic bonds, fearing Western cash cutback -- Reuters

Who Wants To Fund Afghan Security? -- Charles Recknagel, Radio Free Europe
How to Keep Afghanistan Secure -- Zalmay Khalilzad, National Interest
Elevating the Diplomatic Components of the Transition Strategy at the Chicago NATO Summit and Beyond -- Center For American Progress

US military deaths in Afghanistan at 1,843 -- AP