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Fallen Soldiers in the War in Afghanistan Remembered

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At a memorial ceremony held at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul on Sunday, General Joseph Dunford, Commander of ISAF, and several other Afghan and foreign military officials offered tribute to the soldiers (both foreign and Afghan), who had lost their lives in battle over the past 11 years.

Gen. Dunford, while speaking at the ceremony, emphasized that no act of terrorism would be able to diminish their commitement to bring peace and stability to the country.

"No act of violence, no act of terrorism will diminish our resolve to stand for what is right," said Gen. Dunford.

The battle against terrorism has seen major losses for both Afghan and coalition military services. Over the past 12 years, since the beginning of the Afghan war, over 3,000 foreign soldiers and over 10,000 Afghan soldiers have lost their lives.

Yet with all the sacrifices that have been made, war against the Taliban insurgency and more broadly terrorism in the region seems far from over. With the peace process still stalled, and insurgent attacks seeing no abatement this year, any moment taken for remembrance of those who have lost their lives cannot go unaccompanied by thoughts of the future of Afghanistan and the fight against the Taliban.

Bismillah Mohammadi, the Minister of Defense, expressed concerns over the training and equipping of the Afghan Security Forces post-2014. Mr. Mohammadi urged the international community to continue assisting the Afghan forces beyond 2014.

"We urge the international community to equip and train the Afghan Security Forces post- 2014," said Mr. Mohammadi.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Omer Daudzai, the Acting Interior Minister, stressed the need to continue the fight against insurgency for sustainable peace and security in the country. He asked the security organizations to chalk out a strategy in order to have better coordination amongst them.

"We must continue our fight against terrorism for sustainable peace and security. Better coordination among the Afghan security forces will defeat the enemies," said Mr. Daudzai.

There are over 350,000 Afghan soldiers fighting the insurgents across Afghanistan at the moment. Foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after handing over full security responsibility to the Afghan forces. Though coalition officials maintain that nearly all operational oversight has been handed over to Afghans already.

Regardless of how capable and sustainable the Afghan security forces may be, however, pressure is mounting on Afghan and international leaders to negotiate a peace pact with the Taliban to end the conflict that has ravaged the country for over a decade.


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