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Ahmad Massieh Neshat

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, addresses a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, unseen, as an Afghan Presidential bodyguard holds the Afghan flag, left, at the Presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 24, 2011. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told journalists in Kabul that the "transition is on track" for the hand over of seven of Afghanistan's 34 provinces in July. Both Fogh Rasmussen and Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged insurgent fighters to lay down their weapons and embrace an ongoing peace process. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi) (AP)

U.S. in peace talks with Taliban

Jon Gambrell, Ahmad Massieh Neshat