War in Afghanistan disappears from campaign discourse

War in Afghanistan disappears from campaign discourse
By Brian Montopoli
August 17, 2012

Two American troops were killed by an Afghan Local Police officer on Friday in the latest attack by a member of Afghan security forces on their supposed American and NATO allies. At least 39 coalition forces have now been killed in such "green-on-blue" attacks, among them 23 Americans

. Meanwhile, the Afghan government appears to be rife with corruption and incompetence.

One of the latest distressing revelations involves the Afghan finance minister, Omar Zakhilwal, who has had hundreds of thousands of dollars deposited into his bank account - often in cash - while holding positions allowing him to influence winners and losers in the Afghan economy.

In March - after a shooting rampage by a U.S. soldier who allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians and the burning of Korans on a U.S. military base that prompted violent protests - the Obama administration said it was sticking to its timetable for the U.S. and NATO to hand security control of the country over to the Afghans by the end of 2014.
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