The state of Afghanistan
While the U.S. military delivers its assessment on the strategy on the war in Afghanistan on Thursday, CNN's Nic Robertson carried out an informal review of his own. Having covered Afghanistan since the 1990s, Robertson revisited some of the places he'd reported from over the years to see what had changed.
Here's a round-up of some of the reporting:
Afghans struggle on road to better future: For ordinary Afghans, insecurity, instability and lack of development have been the only real constants.
In Herat, Robertson found a governor frustrated with his government in trying to move projects forward and a new road project completed near a school that leaves the U.S. with an image Catch-22.
FULL POSTWeak Afghan rule of law thwarts security
The surge of troops have improved Kandahar security, but U.S. commanders face problems with Afghan politics. Nic Robertson reports.
The dangerous life of Kandahar's mayor
Kandahar, Afghanistan — For the mayor of Kandahar, public service at the helm of Afghanistan's second-largest city carries a grave risk. His last two deputies were assassinated, and Ghulam Hayder Hamidi survived a roadside bomb 15 months ago.
"There was one guy standing there, the blood was dripping from his fingers," Hamidi told NATO Television. "I walked to my office, the car was completely gone."
Two people died and six were wounded in the attack, according to NATO.
But some of the mayor's duties are like those of any other mayor. He frets about cleaning up garbage and keeping the sidewalks clear. "These shopkeepers occupy the sidewalks completely," he said. "The traffic problems will happen and who's responsible? I am." FULL POST
ICRC: Kandahar casualties reflect worsening security
War casualties in a Kandahar hospital are "hitting record highs," figures that illustrate the "deteriorating security situation" in southern Afghanistan, the International Committee for the Red Cross said on Tuesday. FULL POST
Kandahar deputy mayor laid to rest
Family and friends buried the deputy mayor of Kandahar, Afghanistan on Tuesday, a day after he was shot while traveling home from work.
"Several young men on motorcycles came up on either side of his car and shot him," said Maj. Bruce Drake, a spokesman for US and NATO forces in southern Afghanistan.
Local Afghan officials say the gunmen escaped. Doctors struggled to save the deputy mayor, Noor Ahmad Nazari - first at a hospital in Kandahar, and then at the foreign military hospital at the sprawling NATO airbase on the outskirts of the city.
"This is bad news for us," said Zalmai Ayudi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar. "This was the tactic of the insurgents. As soon as the pressure comes on them at the village level, they show their presence." FULL POST
NATO: Suicide car bombing kills 2
A suicide car bomber targeting NATO-led troops in southern Afghanistan killed two civilians and wounded 12 others Thursday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.
ISAF said the insurgent was also killed in the attack, which took place in the Daman district of Kandahar province, outside Kandahar city.
The insurgent, driving a black sedan, targeted a patrol. Zalmal Ayoobi, the Kandahar provincial governor's spokesman, said all of the victims were civilians, and three were children.
The blast damaged buildings and left a "significant crater in the highway," ISAF said.
The Kandahar region has a strong militant presence and has long been the scene of many Taliban attacks and clashes between coalition and Afghan troops and insurgents.
ISAF also reported the deaths of two troops in attacks in southern Afghanistan Thursday.
U.S. soldiers charged with conspiracy in killings
Five U.S. soldiers facing murder charges in the deaths of three Afghan civilians earlier this year have now been charged with "conspiracy to commit premeditated murder," and seven more soldiers have been charged in connection with the probe into the incidents. FULL POST
Taliban attempt attack on Kandahar air base
A group of Taliban insurgents launched an apparently unsuccessful attack on a major NATO base in Afghanistan Tuesday, according to international forces.
The insurgents used suicide bombers and ground weapons in their attempt to breach the perimeter of Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan, said Maj. Michael Johnson, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). FULL POST
Photo spotlight: On patrol in Kandahar
A young Afghan shepherd watches U.S. soldier Trebor Moore on patrol in the Dand district of Kandahar province this week. NATO and the U.S. forces have turned their focus to the Taliban's southern stronghold of Kandahar province for an upcoming offensive.
