AFGHANISTAN

U.S. lawmakers told President Barack Obama's top advisers on Thursday not enough was being done to combat corruption in Afghanistan, singling out allegations against the Afghan president's brother, whom Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged was a problem.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday he is willing to hold talks with Taliban chief, hoping to bring peace to the country.

Italy will send around 1,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan as part of U.S. President Barack Obama's planned troop increase, Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said in an interview published on Thursday.

The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan reassured top officials on Thursday that Washington was not planning an early exit, part of a charm offensive to sell President Barack Obama's new strategy on three continents.

President Barack Obama turns his attention on Thursday from Afghanistan to the battle against unemployment which has sapped his popularity and may shape his political future.

Taliban insurgents in Wardak province warned that more foreign troops will mean more casualties for families back home. Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan and that means more Americans will die, an unidentified member of its council told BBC. With just a handful of resources we can cause even more casualties and deaths. If they increase it again, we'll increase their casualties too. And we're ready for it. We haven't killed civilians but the Americans have. I want to...

Top U.S. officials said the first of 30,000 new U.S. troops will arrive in Afghanistan in two to three weeks, but also made clear on Wednesday that plans to start bringing the soldiers home in 18 months could slip.

The top Republican on the Senate committee, John McCain voiced doubt about Obama's withdrawal plan in Afghanistan, echoing fears that it could allow Taliban militants to wait out the U.S. troop surge and reassert themselves later.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday the European and other U.S. allies will send more than 5,000 new troops to Afghanistan, declaring that the war is not America's alone.

The first of 30,000 new U.S. troops will arrive in Afghanistan in two to three weeks, top U.S. officials said on Wednesday, even as they made clear plans to start bringing the soldiers home in 18 months could slip.

President Barack Obama's top deputies on Wednesday defended his plan for a rapid ramp-up in Afghanistan, but some U.S. senators questioned a proposal to set an 18-month timeline for starting to bring troops home

Thirty thousand more U.S. troops for Afghanistan? Esmatullah only shrugged.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday Afghan President Hamid Karzai must follow through on promises to fight corruption and urged the re-integration of Taliban members who renounced violence.

The top U.S. battlefield commander said on Wednesday that President Barack Obama's 30,000-strong troop increase for the Afghan war would make a huge difference, as the White House prepared to sell the new strategy to Congress.

U.S. President Barack Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan challenges his generals to do more with slightly less than they wanted -- and much, much faster. The odds are against them.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday evening that his administration plans to send 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan.

President Obama announced Tuesday night that he will reinforce Afghanistan with some 30,000 more United States troops to reverse the momentum of the Taliban insurgents, and begin to withdraw in July, 2011.

Following is the prepared text of President Obama's address on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, as released by the White House on Tuesday:

President Barack Obama will unveil plans on Tuesday to send some 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan over six months, a senior administration official said, an escalation he hopes will permit a quicker U.S. exit.

President Barack Obama will unveil his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan in a prime-time televised speech on Tuesday. But in the hours beforehand, officials offered a preview of what he will tell Americans, who are sharply divided over the war.

President Barack Obama will say on Tuesday he is sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan by next summer to speed the battle against the Taliban and plans to bring some soldiers home in 19 months.