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Satellite image of apparent location of hideout compound of Osama bin Laden (aka Usama bin Laden) near Kakul Road showing incomplete construction of compound shown directly below.

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With the top U.S. commander, General David Petraeus in Afghanistan offering Congress his first formal assessment of the war in Afghanistan, a leading Republican is asserting that the U.S. and its NATO allies are turning around the conflict.

According to General Petraeus, the momentum established as been arrest and reversed in a number of areas. However, the accomplishments are reversible.

Transition to Afghan lead is recommended in several provinces.

Petraeus is preparing to recommend commencement of a drawdown of the US surge forces in July. The progress is on course to having Afghan forces take the lead in 2014.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said says that both the U.S. and Afghan governments agree the American military should remain involved in Afghanistan after the planned 2014 end of combat operations, unlike the agreement with Iraq.

Unidentified gunmen in northwestern Pakistan attacked and torched about a dozen NATO oil tankers before dawn on Friday. The tankers were carrying fuel supplies for the NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan.

At least four people are reported dead after an attack in northwestern Pakistan. The dead are reported to have been drivers or assistants on the tanker missions.

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A NATO airstrike mistakenly killed four Afghan soldiers when a coalition aircraft fired on them as they left their military base in southern Helmand province late Wednesday. The four soldiers were leaving their base in Musa Qala district of Helmand province when the airstrike designated for insurgents accidentally hit them.

At least one person killed and two injured yesterday in two explosions in central Stockholm, Sweden near a busy crowd of Christmas shoppers.

One man, apparently the bomber, was found lying in the street bleeding from the abdomen. Two people received minor injuries. One of the cars bombed contained gas canisters.

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VIDEO: President Obama is greeted by NATO Commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus, left, and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Elkenberry, center, after stepping off Air Force One during an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 — just days before a pivotal review about the 9-year-plus conflict.

President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Friday as casualties mount since the U.S. escalated the war last year.

President Barack Obama landed in night’s darkness after a secret departure from the White House on Thursday.

Although specific details about the whole trip have been guarded, Obama plans to personally thank U.S. troops for their service during the holidays.

Rough weather forced the president to abruptly scrap his plans to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the capital of Kabul. Wind, dust and cloud cover made it unsafe for the president to fly by helicopter from the huge military complex in Bagram Air Field to the presidential palace.

The Afghan government, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and its NATO allies were duped into holding peace talks with so-called ‘Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour’, claiming to be the second highest official in the Taliban movement.

According to Afghan and US sources quoted by the New York Times, authorities held face-to-face talks with ‘Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour.’

Western sources quoted by the New York Times also confirmed a UK Guardian report that the man was paid a large sum of money as a retainer to remain engaged in negotiations.

Some officials suspect the man may have been part of the Pakistan intelligence service known as the ISI — acting as a double-agent.

U.S. Gen. David H. Petraeus stated the man was believed to be an impostor for some time.

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guardian.co.uk Fake Taliban leader ‘dupes Nato negotiators’

The New York Times Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor

Photo’s and video footage of the M1A1 and the M1A2 in action. Segment shows tanks moving at a good pace at the end.

M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country’s southwest, will be deployed in Afghanistan for the first time, and will allow ground forces to target insurgents from a greater distance.

The M1 Abrams tank is armed with the most lethal force of any U.S. military ground vehicle. The 68-ton tanks are propelled by a jet engine and equipped with a 120mm main gun that can destroy a house more than a mile away.

The M1 Abrams tanks will be used initially in parts of northern Helmand province, where Marines have been engaged in intense close combat against resilient Taliban cells. The initial deployment is about 16 tanks, but the the number might be expanded.

The Taliban are usually armed with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and homemade bombs.

Analysis of M1A2 Abrams US tank: Sprinter: 1500 horsepower, 500 rounds/minute, and more …

Three people were killed and 36 were injured in back-to-back explosions in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday

The blasts occurred on points on a road only 200 meters apart in the capital city Mehtar Lam of Laghman province. NATO troops and police frequently travel on the road where the attacks are suspected of being the result of bicycle-riding suicide bombers.

The first suspected suicide bomber detonated near a public hospital and a police post around 9:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. ET). Three civilians were killed and 25 people were injured, including one police officer.

The second alleged suicide attack injured 11 civilians.