President Barack Obama says he and the NATO secretary-general on Wednesday discussed increasing alliance effectiveness in the fight against Islamic militants in Afghanistan.
Obama said he hopes the talks and the upcoming new U.S. plan for the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida would “invigorate” NATO participation in the U.S.-led operation, now in its 8th year.
The [...]

A roadside bomb killed four American soldiers in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday — new evidence of rising violence in a region where clashes and attacks in the first two months of 2009 more than doubled from the same period a year ago.
The spike in violence along the border is an early indication that roadside bombs [...]