Obama (NATO) ENDING U.S. Control of Combat Operations in Afghanistan Today

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BBC Breaking News ?@BBCBreaking 5h
Nato-led troops hand over full control of combat operations in #Afghanistan to Afghan forces http://bbc.in/18UybA6


BuzzFeed News ?@BuzzFeedNews 5h
BREAKING: Afghan president says his armed forces now taking the lead for security around the country, @AP reports


The Associated Press ?@AP 5h
BREAKING: Afghan president says his armed forces now taking the lead for security around the country.



. . . the symbolic impact is profound. For the first time since the departure of Soviet forces in 1989 and the years of civil war that followed, security across the whole of Afghanistan is now the responsibility of forces led by the Afghan government.
more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22942013

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1. Karzai announces peace talks as Afghans take over security

(Reuters) - Afghanistan will send a team to Qatar for peace talks with the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai said on Tuesday, as the U.S.-led NATO coalition launched the final phase of the 12-year war with the last round of security transfers to Afghan forces.

Karzai's announcement was the first possible step forward in the peace process, which has struggled to achieve results despite many attempts, and is likely to be applauded by his Western backers.

"Afghanistan's High Peace Council will travel to Qatar to discuss peace talks with the Taliban," Karzai said in Kabul, referring to the council he formed in late 2010.

"We hope that our brothers the Taliban also understand that the process will move to our country soon," Karzai said of the fundamentalist Islamic group that ruled the country with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/18/uk-afghanistan-blast-idUKBRE95H03A20130618

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2. Time to move on, is it? nt

"We hope that our brothers the Taliban also understand that the process will move to our country soon," Karzai said of the fundamentalist Islamic group that ruled the country with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001.

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3. Full BBC link here for you.

Afghans take nationwide security lead from Nato

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22942013

You might consider changing your headline and link to match.

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4. I don't mind making it more accurate

. . . still, I remember a similar milestone in Iraq which resulted in the vast majority of our forces restricting their activities to base and to 'training' and logistics for the native forces.

This looks like the beginning of a significant end to overt U.S. military operations there. That's what I'll be looking out for.

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