NATO wants to give Lashkar Gah - the capital of the volatile Helmand province - over to the Afghans to handle security from July onward. But allegations of police brutality, Taliban prevalence and violence abound. Is this really the Afghanistan we want to leave behind. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports.

They are the faces of civilians caught in the crossfire in Afghanistan. Facing internal conflict, the number of people fleeing their homes in Afghanistan has more than doubled compared to this time last year, says Refugees International, an advocacy group for displaced persons.

"In the first five months of 2011, we have more than 91,000 people fleeing their homes. And this is in comparison to last year at the same time period when there was 42,000," Refugees International advocate Lynn Yoshikawa said. FULL POST

Support from the United States, Pakistan and other Afghan allies is crucial to the success of reconciliation talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that aired Sunday.

"The High Council for Peace is authorized by the Afghan people to talk with the Taliban," Karzai said. "These are initial contacts being made, but these contacts would not yield results, would not give us the results that we seek, unless and until the United States and Pakistan, especially, with our other allies, back it with practical application of the means that they have in their disposal."

Read more from the interview

Find more on Karzai's interview at CNN's Global Public Square