Can the U.S. Woo Afghanistan Taliban to Switch Sides? (Time Magazine)
A surge of American reinforcements into Afghanistan will be a sideshow to the effort to put insurgents onto the U.S. payroll

West turned blind eye to corruption, former Afghan narcotics minister says (Coast Reporter)
TORONTO – Corruption infecting the Afghan government’s highest levels, coupled with unhelpful Western meddling along the way, crippled efforts to effectively battle the country’s burgeoning opium trade, says the country’s former counter-narcotics minister.

U.S. may send 9,000 Marines to fight Taliban in Afghanistan (Defence Professionals)
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW | The United States may send as many as 9,000 Marines to southern Afghanistan to fight Taliban militants just days after President Obama outlines his new war strategy, The Washing…

Obama s Speech on Afghanistan to Envision Exit (New York Times)
President Obama plans to lay out a timetable for U.S. involvement in the Afghan war when he announces his decision this week to send more forces, officials said.

Doubts linger over US civilian surge in Afghanistan (AFP via Yahoo! News)
The Obama administration is forging ahead with its civilian surge in Afghanistan but some experts say thousands more are needed while others fear the security situation is making the push ineffective.

Obama Prepares To Announce Afghan War Strategy (NPR)
President Obama will address the nation and outline his policy for Afghanistan on Tuesday. Key Senate Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan says the plan to send more troops to Afghanistan must show how those reinforcements will help increase the size of the Afghan security forces.

Afghan official: 6 national policemen killed (AP via Yahoo! News)
A rogue Afghan police officer opened fire at a checkpoint in southwest Afghanistan, killing six police officers and injuring two, an official said Monday.

White House emphasizes the positive in Afghanistan (Los Angeles Times)
In the run-up to Obama’s expected troop-increase announcement, administration officials praise the Afghan government for progress in crucial areas. As they prepare to roll out a new Afghanistan policy to a skeptical U.S. audience, Obama administration officials are starting to replace their grim public assessments of the battered country with praise for the skills and idealism of its officials …

U.S. military putting higher priority on training Afghan police (McClatchy Newspapers via Yahoo! News)
KOLK, Afghanistan With the Taliban on the offensive and gaining ground, the U.S. military has taken major steps to boost the training of the Afghan police forces, particularly since American Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal arrived in June to command the U.S. and NATO forces.

Air strike kills 30 Taliban in Afghanistan (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
About 30 Taliban insurgents were killed in a NATO-led air strike in eastern Afghanistan after they attacked an Afghan police post, a police official and the alliance said on Sunday.

Obama prepares to announce Afghan surge (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Barack Obama is set to make the boldest strategic move of his presidency on Tuesday and order a surge of tens of thousands more US troops into an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

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