President Hamid Karzai openly called for a timeline for NATO to withdraw from Afghanistan. At a Nov. 26 news conference with NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Karzai rhetorically asked: "How long will this war go? Afghanistan can’t continue to suffer a war without end." (NYT, Nov. 27)

The day after Karzai's remarks, a suicide bomber blew up a car loaded with explosives near the US embassy in Kabul, killing at least four and injuring 18. The explosion occurred about 100 meters from the entrance to the super-fortified diplomatic residence and damaged seven vehicles in transit during the rush hour. The embassy was closed for Thanksgiving and no member of the embassy staff was injured or killed in the attack. (AGI, Nov. 27)

See our last post on Afghanistan.