KANDAHAR CONVERSATION - A group of International Security Assistance Force Regional Command soldiers talk at dusk while pulling security in Kandahar, Afghanistan, March 28, 2011. U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Haraz N. GhanbariNew Afghanistan Plan: Hole Up In Fortress Districts -- David Axe/The Danger Room
LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan — With the first American troops slated to withdraw in July, the Afghanistan surge is nearly over. But even as the overall U.S. force in Afghanistan contracts, portions of a handful of particularly important districts — the rough equivalent of U.S. counties — could actually get more troops and more development cash.
The shift toward these so-called “key terrain districts” is the result of a slowly evolving plan for making the best out of a bad situation. Come summer, the NATO and Afghan coalition won’t have enough forces to even try controlling every one of Afghanistan’s 400 districts. So the alliance is prioritizing, by pulling troops from relatively secure areas and those being handed over to Afghan forces — not to mention areas deemed lost causes — and sending them to districts where they still stand a chance.
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More News On Afghanistan
Taliban seizes Afghan district in rare show of force -- Washington Post/AP
Taliban fighters seize district in Afghanistan's remote east -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Afghan Police: Taliban Overrun Remote District -- ABC News/AP
3 NATO troops killed in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
Forces Repel Ambush, Kill Insurgents -- U.S. Department of Defense
NATO admits Afghan civilian deaths -- Sydney Morning Herald/AFP
NATO Probe Confirms Afghan Civilian Deaths In Air Strike -- RTT News
Karzai blasts US troops for gruesome Afghan deaths -- Stars And Stripes/AP
Lewis-McChord Army chief to take a lead role in Afghanistan -- Seattle Times
Former Taliban Reconcile With Afghan Government -- NPR
Comedy of Errors in Kabul as Karzai Aide Is Arrested, Then Released -- New York Times
A response on the training of Afghan Forces -- Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, IV, Foreign Policy
Video: ‘I Got Blown to Hell in Afghanistan’ -- David Axe, The Danger Room
A Bogus Report By Rolling Stone About Our Troops In Afghanistan Has Me Crying 'Bulls**t' -- Michael Yon, FOX News
'Kill Team' in Afghanistan Brings Shame to America -- Leslie Marshall, USA Today
Commentary: Where Taliban, government practice peaceful co-existence -- Maiwand Safi, McClatchy News
US military deaths in Afghanistan at 1,408 -- Houston Chronicle/AP