Afghanistan War News Updates -- June 28, 2011

PAKTIKA PATROL - U.S. Army soldiers pull security from the top of a mountain during operation Surak Basta III in Paktika province, Afghanistan, June 21, 2011. The soldiers are assigned 101st Airborne Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team. The operation's mission was to infiltrate near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to stop enemy fighters from entering Afghanistan. U.S. Army courtesy photo

Will The U.S. Military Concede East Afghanistan To The Taliban? -- The Danger Room

John Allen better be a mathematical genius. The three-star Marine general tapped to helm the Afghanistan war has one hell of a battlefield geometry problem on his hands. Not only does Allen have to hold U.S. gains in southern Afghanistan, he’s got to tamp down the volatile east, all while losing 33,000 troops by next September. “I can’t figure out how to do the math,” says John Nagl, president of the influential Center for a New American Security.

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More News On Afghanistan

General set to replace Petraeus in Afghanistan backs Obama's speedy troop withdrawal -- Daily Mail
General named to head US Afghan force OKs drawdown -- Yahoo News/AP
Troop drawdown pace 'about right for Afghanistan,' general says -- CNN
U.S. steps up efforts for talks with Taliban -- L.A. Times
U.S., Afghan forces take mission to insurgent-filled mountains -- USA Today
Afghans Build Security, and Hope to Avoid Infiltrators -- New York Times
Combined Force Captures Taliban Leader -- U.S. Department of Defense
Afghan, NATO forces nab militant dressed as woman -- Yahoo News/AP
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader captured wearing burka -- Dvids
Afghan girl, 8, carrying bomb tricked, police say -- SFGate/New York Times
Afghan general claims fresh Pakistan shelling -- Al Jazeera
Border shelling overshadows U.S.-Pakistan-Afghan talks -- Reuters
Maine has highest state rate of casualties in Afghanistan -- Portland Press
Obama’s drawdown plan ‘about right,’ poll finds -- Washington Post
Gains by Afghan women in peril if the Taliban return to power -- Sydney Morning Herald

Afghan central bank governor flees country over Kabul Bank scandal -- The Telegraph
Afghan Central Banker Resigns, Fearing for Life -- New York Times/Reuters
Afghan Government Says Cenbank Governor on Prosecution List -- New York Times/Reuters
Afghan Central Bank Chief Flees Questions -- Bloomberg

Foreign Policy: President's Wrong Is His Right -- Peter Feaver, NPR
Toyotas in Kabul Get Pimped Out -- Forbes
Afghanistan -- A Bridge Too Far -- Eric Margolis, Huffington post
The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland -- International Crisis Group
The Coming Afghan Debacle. The Taliban is jubilant at Obama's strategy. So is Iran. -- Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal
Push and pull in Obama's withdrawal -- Dinesh Sharma, Asia Times
US aims to turn Afghanistan into neutral zone -- Daniel Dombey and Matthew Green, Financial Times
Understanding the Religious Worldview of the Taliban -- James Fergusson, Huffington Post
In Afghanistan, Obama Is Not Listening to His Commanders -- Michael Goodwin, FOX News