Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 20, 2012

Coalition force members maintain security from a light tactical, all-terrain vehicle during a patrol of Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 15, 2012 Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

Afghan Officials Hold Rare Talks With Taliban Near Paris -- France 24

Afghan government officials met with representatives of the Taliban and another rebel group at an undisclosed venue near Paris on Thursday for two days of secretive talks aimed at ending the conflict in Afghanistan.

Afghan officials met with Taliban rebels and envoys from another Islamist militant group near Paris on Thursday to discuss ways to end the fighting in Afghanistan and prepare for a future without NATO troops.

French hosts say the secretive meeting among rival Afghans in Chantilly, a town famed for its castle and racecourse, is not expected to involve any horse-trading toward a possible peace and reconciliation deal.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command morning operational update, Dec 20 -- ISAF
Insider attack leaves 4 Afghan police dead in Kandahar -- Khaama Press
Afghan police officer kills four comrades -- UPI
Seven Killed By A Roadside Bomb -- Radio Free Europe
Bomb kills seven in southwest Afghanistan: officials -- The Australian/AFP
At war’s end, ramping up drone strikes in Afghanistan -- Reuters
Eastern Afghanistan could determine war's success -- USA Today
Georgian serviceman missing in Afghanistan -- Trend.az

France Hosts Secretive Inter-Afghan Meeting -- ABC News/AP
Inter-Afghan Meeting Continues In France -- Radio Free Europe

Karzai Welcomes British Pullout from Afghanistan -- Time/AP
Karzai welcomes UK troop withdrawal plan -- CNN
Karzai Welcomes Planned British Troop Withdrawal -- Radio Free Europe
Karzai welcomes Britain’s Afghan troop pullout -- DAWN/AFP

Britain details its exit strategy from Afghanistan -- Christian Science Monitor
3,800 British Troops Leave Afghanistan by 2013 -- ABC News/AP
Britain to withdraw nearly half its troops from Afghanistan -- The Australian/AFP

AFGHANISTAN: Power shortages hamper development -- IRIN
INSIGHT-Once a symbol of new Afghanistan, can policewomen survive? -- Reuters
Horror and humour in Afghanistan, lest we forget -- John Doyle, The Globe and Mail
Pakistan’s New Approach Towards Endgame In Afghanistan – Analysis -- Eurasia Review
A New 'Degree of Hope' for Afghanistan (An Interview) -- Council On Foreign Relations
"Declare victory and get out"? -- Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy
In pictures: At risk in Afghanistan's winter -- Al Jazeera