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May 17, 2011

U.S. Joins Talks With Taliban Amid Fresh Deaths of Civilians And U.S. Troops 
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The Washington Post is reporting the Obama administration has
accelerated direct talks with the Taliban. A senior Afghan official said
a U.S. representative attended at least three meetings in Qatar and
Germany with a Taliban official considered close to Mohammad Omar. In
other news from Afghanistan, four U.S. troops died Monday when they were
hit by an improvised explosive device. And NATO says it is investigating
several reports of civilian casualties over the past week. Two
12-year-old girls and a 14-year-old boy were killed in three separate
attacks by U.S. or NATO forces since Thursday.



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