Afghan President Hamid Karzai raised doubts on Sunday that his country could take over responsibility for its security by July 2011, while U.S. leaders said the date was not a drop-dead deadline for Kabul.
Twenty-five NATO allies promised on Friday to send 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan, backing President Barack Obama's new war strategy and stepping up international efforts to defeat the Taliban.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
President Barack Obama plans to announce on Tuesday that he will send about 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in a long-awaited war strategy shift that he hopes will defeat the Taliban and allow for a U.S. exit.
A major international conference on Afghanistan, to be held in London in January, will aim to set the conditions for a gradual transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan control, Britain said on Saturday.
Israel announced on Wednesday it was limiting settlement construction for 10 months to try to revive peace negotiations with the Palestinians, but they said the step fell short of their terms for talks.
President Barack Obama will announce his decision on whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan within days after he held a final strategy session with top aides, the White House said on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama on Monday added to his schedule an evening session with top advisers on Afghanistan as he closes in on a decision on whether to send thousands more U.S. troops.
New York Governor David Paterson, facing a tough battle to keep his job, has fallen so low in public opinion that even his visual impairment that once earned him respect is being held against him.
Veteran Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president on Thursday, pledging to fight graft and take control of his country's security before his five-year term ends, after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins.
U.S. President Barack Obama aims to bring the Afghan war to an end before he leaves office, he said on Wednesday, the eve of a swearing-in ceremony Western officials hope can help salvage Hamid Karzai's tattered reputation.
Afghanistan will form a new anti-corruption unit to investigate high-level graft after widespread criticism and demands from Washington for it to do more amid a wider regional strategy review.
President Barack Obama said on Monday that al Qaeda remained the biggest threat to U.S. security, as his aides stepped up pressure on Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate with Washington's strategy in the troubled region.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged Afghan President Hamid Karzai to do better if he wanted U.S. support, and that included creating a major crimes tribunal and anti-corruption commission.
President Barack Obama's Democrats and his Republican opponents enter the 2010 election season facing voters in an anti-incumbent mood over the sour U.S. economy, increasing the political pressure on both sides.
North Korea said the South will pay an expensive price for firing at Pyongyang's retreating patrol boat on Tuesday, keeping up its saber rattling two days after a naval gunfight raised tension between the rivals.
