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Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Pakistan's capital on a trip widely believed to be aimed at seeking Islamabad's help in ending a decade-old Taliban insurgency. According to a senior Pakistani security official, Karzai has told the U.S. that "seeking a military victory in Afghanistan will remain a futile venture without a stepped-up political dialogue with the Taliban."

NATO is ready to begin turning security over to Afghan forces next year, U.S. leaders said on Friday, as the first step in a plan to withdraw almost all foreign troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Nearly all Afghans want their government to make peace with the Taliban despite their growing dislike for the insurgency, according to a survey funded in part by the U.S. government.

A U.S. prosecutor said on Thursday the government may seek new charges against an Afghan-born man who has pleaded not guilty to plotting a bombing attack in the United States.

Twelve Afghans died when insurgents fired two rockets into a crowded market northeast of Kabul where the head of French forces was holding a meeting with tribal elders.

Obama will consider a new compromise plan for adding troops to Afghanistan that would deploy 30,000 to 35,000 new forces over the next year or more.

NATO and Afghan officials claimed on Monday their forces had killed at least 130 Taliban fighters in a major operation over the past week in an area of Afghanistan's north where militant activity has surged.

Weary Afghans, who have endured years of hardships imposed by a corrupt government, expressed little hope that President Hamid Karzai's next term will turn their lives around.

To help gauge the need for more troops, he's asking for a detailed analysis of Afghan provinces to determine which are being managed effectively.

Afghanistan will hardly have enough time to provide full security during a presidential election run-off in November, a senior official said on Thursday as preparations for the second round entered full swing.