Irshad Manji, Ayaan Hirsi Ali discuss America's struggle in Afghanistan following riots over a Quran burning in Florida.
About 1,000 protesters gathered in front of Kabul University on Tuesday morning, as protests continue throughout Afghanistan to condemn the burning of a Quran by a pastor in the United States.
The demonstrators marched toward the city center amid a heavy police presence but without incident, said Kabul City police official Abdullah Mahboob.
The sight was in marked contrast to earlier demonstrations, some of which turned deadly.
On Sunday, police and stone-throwing demonstrators clashed in Kandahar with as many as three people killed in the violence.
At least nine people were killed and 73 injured in Kandahar on Saturday, and 12 people died Friday - including seven U.N. employees - when angry demonstrators stormed a U.N. compound in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Read the full storyU.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan Tuesday morning as he continued his two-day trip to the country, meeting with senior officers and Afghan leaders.
Gates' visit is his 13th to Afghanistan since he became defense secretary in 2006.
He last traveled to the embattled country three months ago, in December 2010. He has said he prefers to make quarterly tours to monitor the war effort, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell.
On Monday, Gates offered his personal apology to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for the killings of nine Afghan boys last week in a NATO-led helicopter attack targeting insurgents, saying the incident "breaks our hearts."
Read the full storyBillions 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
The International Committee of the Red Cross says the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated to its worst point for aid organizations. CNN's Arwa Damon has the story.
The surge of troops have improved Kandahar security, but U.S. commanders face problems with Afghan politics. Nic Robertson reports.