Taliban Rejects Talks as Britain's Cameron Tours Region

VoANews via Afghanistan Sun | Sunday 30th June, 2013 | ISLAMABAD  - International-backed efforts to seek a negotiated end to the 12 years of grinding war in Afghanistan have suffered another blow after Taliban rebels apparently rejected conditions for proposed peace talks. The development comes as British Prime Minister David Cameron concluded a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of efforts to revive the stalled peace process. In its first formal reaction following the opening of the controversial Taliban political office nearly two weeks ago in Qatar, the Afghan insurgent group has harshly criticized the United States and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for allegedly "wasting time" and making "false commitments" regarding proposed peace talks. READ MORE

Camouflaged Compassion

Yellowhammering in Afghanistan | KABUL, Afghanistan - What's your stereotype of a military member?
It's okay. We all have preconceived notions of what kind of people take on certain roles or positions in our society.

If you're like most, a soldier is someone who is not as well-educated or enlightened as other professions. Their first instincts revolve around shooting, killing, violence of action kind of stuff. They're not very . . . refined.

Compassionate? Not one of the words that comes to mind, is it?

Would it surprise you if I told you some of the smartest people I know are in the military? (READ MORE)

US forces-Afghanistan Casualties

ISAF Joint Command | KABUL, Afghanistan – Two U.S. forces-Afghanistan service members died in eastern Afghanistan today when an individual wearing an Afghan National Security Forces uniform turned a weapon on U.S. and Afghan forces.

It is USFOR-A policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the U.S. Department of Defense, who will release the names once next of kin have been notified. (READ MORE)

Afghan, NATO Troops Killed in Insider Attack

VOA News | March 11, 2013 | Kabul | NATO officials in Afghanistan say an apparent insider attack in eastern Afghanistan has killed several Afghan and U.S.-led coalition service members.

Authorities say the shooter in Monday's incident in Wardak province was believed to be an Afghan police officer.

The shooting comes a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's first visit to Afghanistan was marred by a contentious speech by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a series of security threats Saturday that forced the cancellation of a scheduled news conference on Sunday with Karzai and Secretary Hagel. (READ MORE)

Afghan President accuses US having secret plot with Taliban

Taiwan News | Website Editorial Staff  | The often volatile U.S. relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai was further strained Sunday as Karzai accused the U.S. and Taliban insurgents of having a secret understanding to foment violence as a pretext to keep foreign troops in Afghanistan.

The comments were the latest — and perhaps the most baffling — broadside by Karzai against one of his nation’s closest allies, leaving U.S. officials struggling to limit the fallout.  (READ MORE)

Afghan President Karzai accuses U.S. of colluding with Taliban

Ernesto Londono and Kevin Sieff | Denver Post | KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai lashed out at the United States in strikingly acerbic terms Sunday, implying that the American military was stoking violence in collusion with the Taliban to justify a prolonged presence here and charging that foreign troops were harassing Afghan university students.

The remarks painted an embarrassing picture of discord that marred Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's first foreign trip as Pentagon chief and plunged the tenuous allies into crisis mode at a time when the United States is struggling to wind down the unpopular war in a dignified manner.  (READ MORE)

Afghanistan Prognosis Looks Gloomier

Asia Times Online | By Jim Lobe | WASHINGTON - With all foreign troops due to leave Afghanistan just two years from now, the news out of the Central Asian nation is becoming increasingly gloomy.

Adding to the pessimism is a just-released report by one of the most astute observers of the US war, Gilles Dorronsoro, an Afghanistan expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), who, among other things, predicts that the regime in Kabul "will most probably collapse in a few years" given current trends.

"Political fragmentation, whether in the form of militias or the establishment of sanctuaries in the north, is laying the ground work for a long civil war" that is likely to be fueled by competition among regional powers, according to his report, which also joined the call by a growing number of experts for Washington to open negotiations with the Taliban as soon as possible. (READ MORE)