U.S. TO PAY AFGHANISTAN >$2.7 BILLION FOR >10 YEARS

"... draft agreement was worked out and initialed by Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. It must still be reviewed in both countries and signed afterward by the Afghan and American presidents... Americans will provide military and financial support to the Afghan people for at least a decade beyond 2014... the U.S. is expected to maintain a large presence in the country for years after, including special forces, military trainers and government-assistance programs..."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/22/afghanistan-war-strategic-pact_n_1443821.html

"... the United States expects to make substantial contributions toward the cost of Afghanistan’s security forces beyond 2014. A total figure for the United States of $2.7 billion a year has been discussed, and it could easily be more; there would most likely be aid for civilian programs as well..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/world/asia/us-and-afghanistan-reach-partnership-agreement.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

COST OF FUEL

"... last November... Pakistani officials slammed that country’s border crossings shut on American and NATO war supplies. Those crossings have yet to reopen... there were brief reports indicating that the costs of shipping some items had gone up by a factor of six, depending on the route chosen. Back in 2009, it was estimated that a gallon of fuel cost $400 or more by the time it reached the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and that was by the cheaper Pakistani route. How much is it now? $600, $800, $2,400?"
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/04/20-1

KARZAI WANTS $2 BILLION PER YEAR AFTER WITHDRAWAL
... a strategic partnership

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday said he wanted "at least $2 billion" a year from the United States after it withdraws its troops in 2014... "We want them to write down that America will give for Afghanistan's security $2 billion a year -- or at least two billion a year", he said. "If they want to give us more, they are welcome."
http://news.yahoo.com/karzai-wants-least-2-billion-us-141710318.html

U.S. CEDES NIGHT RAIDS TO AFGHAN FORCES

"The U.S. and Afghanistan signed a deal Sunday giving Afghans authority over raids of Afghan homes... a panel of Afghan security officials get authority to decide what raids will take place... Afghan forces will conduct home searches and that U.S. forces will be allowed to enter private compounds "only as required or requested"... the Afghan government will immediately take custody of detainees. The U.S. will only interrogate detainees if asked by the Afghans...
http://news.yahoo.com/afghans-us-sign-deal-night-raids-111707350.html

U.S. SOLDIER KILLS 16 CIVILIANS, INCLUDING 9 CHILDREN

"Stalking from home to home, a United States Army sergeant methodically killed at least 16 civilians, 9 of them children... igniting fears of a new wave of anti-American hostility... the sergeant was attached to a unit... called a village stabilization operation... to develop close ties with village elders... the soldier, who had walked more than a mile from his base, tried door after door, eventually breaking in to kill within three separate houses. At the first, the man gathered 11 bodies, including those of 4 girls younger than 6, and set fire to them... after a period of deepening public outrage, spurred by the Koran burning by American personnel last month and an earlier video showing American Marines urinating on dead militants, the apparently unprovoked killings added to a feeling of siege here among Western personnel..."
>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/asia/afghanistan-civilians-killed-american-soldier-held.html?_r=1&hp

"... The burning of the bodies may ignite even more outrage because it is seen as the desecration of corpses and therefore against Islam... Afghan officials and local villagers expressed doubt that a single U.S. soldier could have carried out all the killings in houses about a mile (2 kilometers) apart and burned the bodies afterward... "It is not possible for only one American soldier to come out of his base, kill a number of people far away, burn the bodies, go to another house and kill civilians there, then walk at least 2 kilometers and enter another house, kill civilians and burn them"... The Taliban vowed revenge..."
http://news.yahoo.com/taliban-vow-revenge-afghans-killed-us-troop-081654645.html

KORAN BURNING AND VENGEANCE

"The Taliban exhorted Afghans Thursday to attack and kill foreign troops to avenge the burning of Korans at a US-run base…"
http://news.yahoo.com/anti-us-protests-rage-third-day-afghanistan-052937732.html

"The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan called on his troops to resist any urge to avenge the death of two American soldiers killed in riots over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base… (saying) “Now is not the time for revenge. Now is not the time for vengeance. Now is the time to look deep inside your souls, remember your mission, remember your discipline, remember who you are.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/top-nato-general-calls-for-afghan-restraint-over-quran-burnings-says-investigation-continues/2012/02/24/gIQAAuCFXR_story.html

FALLOUT FROM KORAN BURNING

"Two American officers were shot dead at close range inside Afghanistan's Interior Ministry on Saturday, a U.S. official said, as rage gripped the country for a fifth day over the burning of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base. NATO recalled all staff working at ministries in the Afghan capital Kabul following the attack..."
http://news.yahoo.com/one-killed-fifth-day-afghanistan-protests-074940486.html

"The potential scope of the fallout from the burning of several copies of the Koran by American military personnel this week became chillingly clear on Thursday as a man in an Afghan Army uniform shot and killed two American soldiers, while a crowd nearby protested the desecration of the Muslim holy book... some of Mr. Karzai’s allies in Parliament... have openly encouraged people to take to the streets and attack NATO forces... The Taliban released two statements on Thursday: one urged Afghans to attack foreign troops and installations as well as Afghan forces who are defending them, and the second urged Afghan security forces to turn their guns on their NATO colleagues..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/world/asia/koran-burning-afghanistan-demonstrations.html?_r=2