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"When it comes to corruption in Afghanistan, the time may be now for the United States to look in the mirror and see what lessons can be learned from contracting out parts of that war."

"WASHINGTON - The U.S. intends to wage a counterterrorism campaign inside Afghanistan even after the main U.S. combat force leaves in 2014 in order to prevent al-Qaida from fulfilling its ambition to re-establish a sanctuary there, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday."

The only people thinking long-term appear to be the Taliban. "The Americans are going and the Taliban need the people's support, so they are trying to avoid attacks that result in civilian casualties," said Noor Agha Mujahid, a member of the Taliban shadow government for Kandahar province, where he oversees operations in a rural district. "After 2014 ... it will not take a month to take every place back.""

"The Pentagon is pushing a plan that would keep about 8,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan once the NATO military mission there ends in 2014."

"The Afghan peace process, which has made little headway since it began several years ago, is hobbled by distrust among the major players, with the Taliban steadfastly refusing to talk to the Afghan government. "

"In a brazen demonstration of its ability to hit some of the best defended targets in Kabul, the Taliban mounted its largest ever co-ordinated attack in 11 years of resistance to Afghanistan's post-2001 rulers."

"Why Karzai is fed up with the U.S. mission in Afghanistan: For a decade, American troops have fought and died defending Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government. On Thursday, with the U.S. defense secretary looking on from Kabul, Karzai demanded that those troops stop fighting for him."

"The Army inspector general is conducting a system-wide review of mental health facilities to determine whether psychiatrists overturned diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder to save money, a move that comes as the case of a U.S. soldier suspected of killing 16 Afghan civilians has brought fresh attention to the strains of war."

"A series of contradictory statements about a possible earlier start to the (mainly US) foreign troop drawdown and a quicker handover of security responsibility to Afghan forces, as well as debate over the likely form of NATO's post-ISAF mission in Afghanistan has caused confusion in the media(1) and wider public sphere recently."

"More than 400 Afghan soldiers and police officers are dying each month, and the insurgency remains stronger than many had anticipated. "

Trucking contractors pay off the Taliban, warlords and government officials to ensure safe passage for U.S. military goods in Afghanistan , a senior military official told a congressional oversight panel. "Some of that money, for sure, is going to the insurgency," Brig. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said. "I can't quantify how much is going to attacks against us. . . . I don't think you can completely stop it, but we've got to minimize it.""

"SIGAR: Roadside anti-IED devices never installed, increased risk to troops, asks Gen. Allen for "immediate" action"

"The United States has two vital interests in that part of the world: preventing terrorist attacks on this country and its allies, and preventing nuclear weapons or materials from falling into the hands of terrorists. Protecting these interests after 2014 will require the United States to be able to launch precision military strikes from this region. But it will not require tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. "

"As of this year, Afghanistan has experienced ten years of stabilization intervention, but what is there to show for it? Marked by massive expenditure with little to no accountability, and often marred by waste, stabilization in Afghanistan started out with arguably honorable aims. However, as troops prepare to leave in 2014, what legacy will be left behind? "

"Afghanistan policy, like Vietnam policy before it, has taken on a life of its own, impervious to ground truth. The simple reality is that "peace talks" with the Taliban have no chance whatever of a positive outcome from the perspective of U.S. policy. Just as it did in Vietnam, the United States has been fighting the wrong war in Afghanistan with the wrong strategy from the very beginning. "

"The day before he suffered a fatal tear in his heart last December, a frustrated Richard Holbrooke confided to a colleague: The Obama administration had tried everything to persuade Pakistan to crack down on terrorism, including threats and special-assistance packages, but none of it seemed to work. Why wasn't Pakistan getting the message?"

"The Afghan war is returning to the place it began: the violent eastern borderlands with Pakistan, where the Taliban and al-Qaeda slipped out of American reach a decade ago and have organized their insurgency ever since."

"At least one in seven Afghan soldiers walked off the job during the first six months of this year, according to statistics compiled by NATO that show an increase in desertion. Between January and June, more than 24,000 soldiers walked off the job, more than twice as many as in the same period last year, according to the NATO statistics. In June alone, more than 5,000 soldiers deserted, nearly 3 percent of the 170,000-strong force."

Afghan officials and the country's former central bank governor have been swapping blame for the worst financial crisis in Afghan history. Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, Afghan Central Bank head, fled to US after accusing powerful politicians of financial malfeasance at the largest Afghan bank, where over $900 million is missing. Afghan officials countered with an arrest warrant for Fitrat, charging him with fraud and saying that as the country's chief banker he failed to catch the illicit dealings. Kids, kids...