Karzai Gives OK to NATO Kandahar Offensive

The Washington Post reports that Hamid Karzai has approved plans for a NATO-led offensive in Kandahar province this summer.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave the green light Sunday to a major security crackdown in the Taliban birthplace of Kandahar, assuring residents that the operation was aimed at battling corruption and bad government as much as insurgents.

Hundreds of tribal and religious leaders, sitting cross-legged in a steamy conference hall in the city, publicly endorsed the plan, although Afghan officials acknowledged lingering skepticism about the high-stakes operation, seen as a possible turning point in the nearly nine-year-old war.

Click here to read more.