Afghanistan War News Updates -- June 29, 2012

A U.S. paratrooper fires his M249 squad automatic weapon at insurgents during a firefight on the outskirts of the village of Spedar in southern Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June 15, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

Afghan Officials Hail Talks With Insurgents -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — A flurry of informal contacts between the Afghan government and insurgent representatives over the past week suggests that long-stalled peace negotiation efforts may be inching forward, Afghan officials say, though American officials played down the significance of the meetings.

Afghan government negotiators sat with representatives of the insurgents first at an informal meeting in Paris this week and then at an academic conference in Kyoto, Japan, through the past two days, officials said. President Hamid Karzai’s top peace negotiator, Salahuddin Rabbani, hailed the public contacts this month as an indication that the Taliban were backing off their demand that Americans be the main interlocutors in any talks.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command morning operational update, June 29 -- ISAF
Combined Force Detains Taliban Leader -- US Department of Defense
Militants kill 10 in attack in eastern Afghanistan -- AP
Air Strike Kills Taliban Leader In East Afghanistan -- RTT
Troop immunity likely to be focus of U.S., Afghanistan deal -- Reuters
Afghan Taliban Deny Taking Orders From Pakistan -- New York Times/Reuters
Afghan Taliban Deny Taking Orders From Pakistan -- Radio Free Europe
Radio Mullah re-emerges as security threat -- Express Tribune
Afghans face mass deportation from Pakistan -- DAWN/AFP
400,000 Unregistered Afghan Refugees Face Deportation By Pakistan -- Radio Free Europe
Afghanistan appeals for foreign corporate investment as a way to stabilize after years of war -- Washington Post/AP
Afghanistan Woos Foreign Investors in New Delhi -- New York Times
India's growing stake in Afghanistan -- BBC
India seeks larger role in stabilizing Afghanistan after NATO drawdown -- Washington Post
An Umbrella for Afghan Stability -- Chinmaya R. Gharekhan and Karl F. inderfurth, New York Times