WAY AHEAD - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates talks with CNN's Candy Crowley, June 19, 2011, on "State of the Union." Gates discussed the way ahead in Afghanistan and said U.S. and coalition diplomats have been carrying out preliminary negotiations with the Taliban for a couple of weeks. DOD Screen GrabWhy NATO And The Taliban Are Stepping Up The Fight - Even As Talks Get Under Way -- Ben Arnoldy and Tom A. Peter, Christian Science Monitor
Afghanistan saw an uptick of violence as Afghan President Karzai announced that the US and the Taliban are, indeed, meeting.
Two big pieces of news emerged this weekend from Afghanistan: dramatic reports of violence and confirmation that the United States and the Taliban are meeting. The fighting does not mean talks are not serious, say experts who expect both to coexist as the country struggles to find its equilibrium.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Talking to the Taliban: 'It takes two to tango' -- Ed Hornick, CNN
Talks with the Taliban will be a condition of any endgame -- The Independent
Reading Hamid Karzai in Kabul -- Michael O'Hanlon, Politico
Success Against Al Qaeda Depends on Success in Afghanistan -- Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan, Weekly Standard
NATO's Libya Bombing Error Won't Help a Flagging War Effort -- Tony Karon, Time
Libya campaign: Could Nato mission unravel? -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC
Assad follows the Arab Tyrant Manual -- Blake Hounshell, Passport/Foreign Policy
Is Syria's Assad Cracking? -- Max Fisher, The Atlantic
Why is Obama so tough on Israel and timid on Syria? -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post
5 things we learned today as Ben Ali's trial started in Tunisia -- Robert Zeliger, Foreign Policy
Beijing belligerence: Why Vietnam wants us back -- Arthur Herman, New York Post
Inside the U.N.'s Shocking New Report on Refugees -- Uri Friedman, Atlantic Wire
Reports: Why Things Fell Apart At Fukushima Plant -- Richard Harris, NPR
Beginning of the end for nuclear power in Japan? -- Gavin Blair, Christian Science Monitor
Russia Holds Key Lessons for Greece on Default: Roland Nash -- Roland Nash, Bloomberg
Why Greek Tumult Signals the Coming of Europe's Own 'Arab Spring' -- Bruce Crumley, Time