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.
Read more ....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
Karzai: Taliban office should be in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
Karzai: Taliban office should be in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia or another Muslim nation -- Washington Post/AP
Afghan stadium once site of Taliban executions remodeled, reopened -- L.A. Times
Afghan pride as Taliban execution stadium reopened -- AFP
Taliban death stadium reborn as Afghan sporting hope -- Reuters
Freed Afghan rape victim Gulnaz 'may marry' attacker -- BBC
Afghan woman jailed after being raped is freed after two years in Kabul prison -- The Guardian
Pregnant Child in Afghanistan: Miriam's Story -- ABC News
The Case for Continuing the Counterinsurgency Campaign In Afghanistan -- Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan, Foreign Affairs