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Preparing Afghanistan’s police

The readiness of Afghanistan’s security forces is central to U.S. and NATO plans to withdraw all forces from the country by the end of 2014.

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Oct. 13, 2012  

An Afghan instructor instructs a student shooting with live ammunition at the police academy in Kabul. On Oct. 18, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that his military and police are prepared to take full responsibility for security if the U.S.-led international coalition decides to speed up the hand-over of those duties. But international observers warn that the largely illiterate police force will disintegrate after 2014 into factional militias more loyal to local warlords than to the state.

Anja Niedringhaus / AP

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