Should foreign military get permission before launching air strikes?
President Hamid Karzai has suggested requiring foreign militaries to first get permission from Afghan officials before carrying out air strikes and house raids. During Wednesday’s news conference with the U.N. secretary-general, Mr. Karzai again called for an end to civilian casualties. Mr. Karzai says the issue of civilian casualties has caused tensions between Afghanistan and the United States, but the overall relationship remains strong. He says military leaders should negotiate on his suggestions for new rules of engagement. Ban Ki-moon also meets with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad, where he is expected to announce the creation of a formal U.N. investigation into the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. A Pakistani investigation last year concluded Taliban militants were most likely responsible for her death in December 2007. But Bhutto’s political party, which now leads Pakistan’s government, suggested that her political opponents may have played a rol
