Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 16, 2011

U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Garrett Reed watches over a bridge during a security patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 30, 2011. Reed is a mortarman assigned to Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder

Running Out of Time for Afghan Governance Reform -- Stephen Biddle, Foreign Affairs
This piece was published as part of The Future of Afghanistan and U.S. Foreign Policy, a collaboration between the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism and ForeignAffairs.com.

The range of achievable outcomes in Afghanistan is narrowing as Western effort wanes. The ambitious goals of the Bush administration were probably never attainable and are certainly not now. But even minimally democratic accountability may soon be beyond reach. If so, some form of delimited warlord rule will be the outer bound of the achievable. If a new set of bargains between Kabul and provincial powerbrokers can be reached and enforced, such a system could still be tolerable in the limited sense that it could preserve the United States' essential security interests in Afghanistan. But it would be far from ideal. And even this option could slip away if some critical reforms are not instituted soon.

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More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command evening operational update -- Dvids
Combined Force Kills 1 Insurgent, Detains 2 Suspects -- US Department of Defense

U.S. military acknowledges abuse by Afghan militias it trains
-- Washington Post
U.S.-trained Afghan police forces committed abuses, probe finds -- L.A. Times
Emotions flow as Canadian soldiers return from Afghanistan -- Montreal Gazette/Postmedia News

Stop U.S. Drone Flights, Iran Warns Afghanistan -- New York Times
Iran demands Afghanistan block US from using its bases for drone flights over Iran -- Washington Post

Afghan Rebuke of Qatar Sets Back Peace Talks -- New York Times
Afghan Leaders Set New Conditions for Peace Talks with Taliban -- Voice of America
Karzai only supports Afghan-led talks - spokesman -- Reuters

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