Afghanistan War News Updates -- January 24, 2013

An Afghan soldier and coalition force members provide security during an operation in Farah province, Afghanistan, Jan. 19, 2013. Afghan forces have taken the lead in planning and conducting operations to help maintain regional security. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Chadwick de Bree

Afghanistan in Retrograde: America Prepares to Withdraw -- Nate Rawlings in Logar Province Afghanistan, Time

For the past few years, American troops in Afghanistan have used the winter months to make progress in counterinsurgency before the next fighting season. But with the end in sight for the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, American forces have a different kind of mission this winter. This is the first in a series of stories by Nate Rawlings, assigned to document the dismantling of the U.S. installations in Afghanistan in the walk-up to the withdrawal of troops by the end of 2014.

You can be forgiven, upon landing in Kabul, for initially forgetting you’ve entered a war zone. Leaving the city’s slightly shoddy airport, I descended into its frenetically congested streets and saw thousands of people go about their daily lives, seemingly unaware that the rest of the world always attached the word war next to their country.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command operational update, Jan 24 -- ISAF
Combined Force Arrests Haqqani Network Facilitator -- US Department of Defense
Michigan soldier dies of Afghanistan combat wounds -- SFGate/AP
Bomb blast kills two policemen in Afghanistan -- Press TV (Iran)
Suicide bomb blast rocks Herat in western Afghanistan -- Khaama Press
Militants kill alleged Afghan spy in Pakistan tribal region -- Khaama Press
NATO drone crash in Paktika province of Afghanistan -- Khaama Press
ISAF Training Mission Bolsters Afghan Gains, Commander Says -- US Department of Defense
Coming This Year to Afghanistan: Way More Artillery Strikes -- Danger Room
Lacking air power, Afghans to rely on mortars: US -- Manorama Online
Marines see fewer attacks in Afghanistan -- Marine Times
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond Admits Afghanistan Likely To Be 'Messy' After Pullout -- Huffington Post/Press Association
Congress Must Weigh in on U.S. Future in Afghanistan -- US News and World report
Karzai's Brother Renounces U.S. Citizenship To Enter Afghan Politics -- Radio Free Europe
America's non-committal relationship with Afghanistan -- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Foreign Policy