Strategic Partnership Talks Continue With Afghanistan

The ongoing talks between the United States and Afghanistan on the Strategic Partnership deal continue. Issues such as the transfer of the Parwan prison, night raids by ISAF special operations forces, and the status of U.S. forces and bases in Afghanistan after 2014 continue to dominate the negotiations. Learn more in "Afghanistan presses for answers on long-term U.S. military bases", Reuters, March 31, 2012.

Info on U.S. - Afghan Strategic Agreement

The United States and Afghanistan are in the process of fine-tuning the wording of the "Strategic Partnership  Agreement" that will define the relationship between the two countries over the next few years. The negotiations are on-going and recent events such as the Koran burning and Panjwai killings have been complicating the agreement's terms. In addition, Karzai has some "red lines" that have caused some reluctance on the part of the United States - elimination of night raids and turning over detention facilities to Afghan control. Read more on this agreement in "Fact Sheet: U.S.-Afghan Strategic Agreement", by Paraag Shukla, Institute for the Study of War, March 2012.