AFGHANISTAN VIOLENCE AT ALL TIME HIGH
Taliban emboldened by NATO departure date

"Violence in Afghanistan has reached an all-time high, with clashes up fourfold since 2007... the Pentagon attributed much of the increase in violence to the growth in the coalition force after US President Barack Obama's escalation this year... Approximately 97,000 US troops and 48,800 troops from other countries are in Afghanistan at present... the US defence department is suggesting the strategy of American, British and other politicians is the cause of the Taliban's success... America would deny it is going to leave... but a handover by collation forces in four years' time is exactly what was agreed at the Nato summit last weekend."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11825294