U.S. watchdog warns billions invested in Afghan security at risk
Billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars spent to train, equip and support Afghanistan security forces may end up wasted, according to the watchdog of reconstruction spending.
The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, retired Marine Gen. Arnold Fields, in what may be his final public event before he retires next month, painted a starkly pessimistic picture of what lies ahead in Afghanistan. FULL POST
Colin Powell on Afghanistan pull-out
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell talks with CNN's Candy Crowley about whether the U.S. can pull out of Afghanistan in six months.
Training in fake village for real fight
British soldiers undergo rigorous training in a fake Afghan village as they prepare to deploy to Afghanistan. CNN's Dan Rivers reports.
Karzai accepts lawmakers' plan to end standoff
Afghanistan's parliament will be inaugurated Wednesday, ending a political standoff, President Hamid Karzai's office said Monday.
Humayoun Azizi, Karzai's minister for parliamentary affairs, said the president's decision came after the country's Supreme Court sent word that it would not intercede in the seating of parliament following a deal between Karzai and the parliament over prosecuting crimes arising from last year's elections. FULL POST
Generations of opium addiction
Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan - In a far flung corner of northern Afghanistan, Aziza reaches into the dark wooden cupboard, rummages around, and pulls out a small lump of something wrapped in plastic.
She unwraps it, breaking off a small chunk as if it were chocolate, and feeds it to four-year-old son, Omaidullah. It's his breakfast - a lump of pure opium.
