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September 2nd, 2010 (Geopoliticalmonitor.com) - Ten election workers have been killed by a NATO airstrike in Afghanistan on the eve of a visit by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

General Petraeus’ announcement that won’t necessarily honor a 2011 pullout date for NATO forces in Afghanistan is aimed at re-taking the initiative on negotiations with the Taliban.

August 5th, 2010 (Geopoliticalmonitor.com) - Yesterday, newly appointed General David Petraeus issued his first new directive in the Afghan campaign stressing the need to avoid civilian casualties. Is it realistic to expect that the tactics that did so much to reduce violence in Iraq will be similarly effective in Afghanistan?

Some US officials are backing away from the idea that the July 2011 deadline set by President Obama will mark a major drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan. But leading Democrats, aware of growing opposition to the war among supporters, are singing a different tune.

This weekend’s massive leak of classified information on the war in Afghanistan will probably come to be seen as the leak that broke the war’s back.

July 20, 2010 (Al Jazeera) - Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has received international backing for plans that would see Afghan forces to take over security across the country in four years.

July 19, 2010 (Reuters) - NATO is failing to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan, according to a poll released on Friday showing most people in Taliban heartlands view foreign troops negatively and believe the Taliban should join the government.

A recent survey by Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) shows a sharp expansion in corruption in Afghan society. Most Afghans now see the payment of bribes as a routine part of obtaining government services.

UNITED NATIONS, July 15th (Washington Post) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to seek the removal of up to 50 former Taliban officials from a U.N. terrorism blacklist -- more than a quarter of those on the list -- in a gesture intended to advance political reconciliation talks with insurgents, according to a senior Afghan official.

July 14th (BBC News) - Three British soldiers have been killed and four injured by a renegade Afghan soldier in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.