WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A political crisis in Pakistan may threaten not only the future of President Asif Ali Zardari but also keep pressure on an already tense relationship with the United States as it seeks to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.

A scandal over a murky memo that warned the Pentagon of a possible military coup in Pakistan has highlighted historic tensions between the weak civilian government in Islamabad and the powerful military, whose help Washington needs to battle militants fueling violence in Afghanistan.

By Missy Ryan

(Reuters) – A key Republican U.S. senator warned against negotiating with the Taliban on Monday, illustrating the political risk the Obama administration is taking by considering a prisoner transfer as part of a bid to end the Afghan war.

U.S. officials told Reuters a transfer of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody could be one confidence-building measure critical to making progress on a peace deal between the Taliban and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents, senior U.S. officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.

As part of the accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters has learned, the United States is considering the transfer of an unspecified number of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After 10 months of secret dialogue with Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents, senior U.S. officials say the talks have reached a critical juncture and they will soon know whether a breakthrough is possible, leading to peace talks whose ultimate goal is to end the Afghan war.

As part of the accelerating, high-stakes diplomacy, Reuters has learned, the United States is considering the transfer of an unspecified number of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Libya Saturday it faced a “long and difficult” road in moving on from 42 years of one-man rule and uniting the fractious rebel groups that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

Panetta became the first U.S. defense secretary to visit Libya when he arrived in the capital Tripoli to meet an interim leadership struggling to assert control two months after Gaddafi was captured and killed.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Libya on Saturday where a weak interim government is struggling to assert control two months after the capture and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The visit follows a decision by the U.N. Security Council on Friday to lift sanctions on Libya’s central bank and a subsidiary, clearing the way for tens of billions of dollars they hold overseas to be unfrozen to ease an acute cash crisis.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military officially ended its war in Iraq on Thursday, packing up a military flag at a ceremony with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

The last 4,000 American troops will withdraw by the end of the year, leaving Iraq still tackling a weakened but stubborn insurgency, sectarian tensions and political uncertainty.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. military officially ended its war in Iraq on Thursday, packing up a military flag at a ceremony with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

The last 4,000 American troops will withdraw by the end of the year, leaving Iraq still tackling a weakened but stubborn insurgency, sectarian tensions and political uncertainty.

(Adds Karzai, additional Panetta comments)

By Missy Ryan

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, Dec 14
(Reuters) – The United States and its allies are winning in
Afghanistan, the U.S. defense chief said on Wednesday, despite
spreading violence, a resilient insurgency and uncertain
prospects for a peace deal the West had hoped might end a decade
of war.

“I really think that for all the sacrifice that you’re
doing, the reality is that it’s paying off,” Defense Secretary
Leon Panetta told U.S. soldiers at Forward Operating Base
Sharana, an outpost in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan (Reuters) – The United States and its allies are winning in Afghanistan, the U.S. defense chief said on Wednesday, despite spreading violence, a resilient insurgency and uncertain prospects for a peace deal the West had hoped might end a decade of war.

“I really think that for all the sacrifice that you’re doing, the reality is that it’s paying off,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told U.S. soldiers at Forward Operating Base Sharana, an outpost in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province.