Gen. David Petraues

"Landep News"

Gen. David Petraues

The leader of the coalition led by the United States in Afghanistan, U.S. General David Petraeus handed over command on Monday, during a ceremony conducted in the capital of the country, Kabul, to the new commander, U.S. General John Allen.

David Petraeus will leave Afghanistan, after a year spent as the leader of the coalition, where he is to take the office of head of the Central Intelligence Agency, replacing Leon Panetta, who became the United States Defense Secretary.

General John Allen was recently the deputy commander of the U.S. central command, and takes charge of the forces in Afghanistan at a time when violence continues in this country, even at highest levels, against the background of the American drawdown plan from Afghanistan, expected to begin this year and be completed by 2014.

The most notorious violent act in the past few months is by far the killing of Ahmed Wali Karzai, half-brother of the Afghan president, killed by a bodyguard who was said to have been tied to Al-Qaeda.

The assassination of Ahmed Wali was followed by an explosion that targeted a province governor who was going to attend the funeral of he who was called “the king of Kandahar.”

An attack on one of the closest advisers of the same president Hamid Karzai was carried out on Monday, and the killing of the adviser was also claimed by the Taliban, who seem to have developed an entire strategy of targeting those close to the president, thus flexing their muscles and let people in Afghanistan now that they are back in business, and that they cannot be stopped.

The attack comes at a time when the security duties were passed from the U.S.-led coalition to the Afghan forces, which will make John Allen work even harder, giving that he must pull troops out and make sure the country does not fall into the hands of the Taliban.

France celebrated its 14th of July as seven of its soldiers died in Afghanistan within a week, the highest death toll since the involvement of France in the operation.

Even so, France promised to keep its word and withdraw its 4,000 soldiers by 2014, and to begin the process this year.

On Saturday, a British soldier from the Royal Lancers regiment was killed by an Afghan police trooper.

On Monday, the Taliban released a video in which 16 Pakistani policemen were killed. The Taliban who captured the policemen were from a valley in Pakistan that used to be controlled by the Pakistani police.

Pakistan withdrew many troops from the border as a consequence of the decision made by Obama administration to cut off the funds for Pakistan, as a result of the increased tension and distrust between the two allies in the fight against terror.

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