WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers are steeling for a public battle against the possible transfer of Taliban detainees out of Guantanamo Bay prison, a key step in the Obama administration’s bid to broker a peace deal ending the war in Afghanistan.

Congressional opposition is gaining steam, especially among Republicans but also among some senior Democrats, to the potential transfer to Qatar of five senior Taliban prisoners, a good-faith move that could set the stage for eventual political talks between the Taliban and Afghan government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers are steeling for a public battle against the possible transfer of Taliban detainees out of Guantanamo Bay prison, a key step in the Obama administration’s bid to broker a peace deal ending the war in Afghanistan.

Congressional opposition is gaining steam, especially among Republicans but also among some senior Democrats, to the potential transfer to Qatar of five senior Taliban prisoners, a good-faith move that could set the stage for eventual political talks between the Taliban and Afghan government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As NATO nations revise their plans for standing up local security forces in Afghanistan, doubts are growing over whether the West will be willing to pay for even a smaller Afghan force seen as key to keeping militants at bay as foreign troops go home.

U.S. and NATO officials have been moving toward a decision on a revised target for Afghanistan’s fledgling army and police, possibly leaving them much smaller than the goal of 352,000 already approved by the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be reached by October 2012.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and NATO soldiers have weakened the Taliban but not enough to force the militants to abandon their fight against foreign troops, according to a new intelligence assessment that highlights an abiding division between the U.S. military and intelligence views on the war in Afghanistan.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan concluded that a stepped-up Western military campaign had done real damage to the Taliban’s military prowess but “not enough so to change their strategic calculus.”

By Missy Ryan and Warren Strobel

(Reuters) – Seeing a new glimmer of hope in its effort to broker Afghan peace talks, the Obama administration is launching a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy with an immediate goal of sealing agreement for Taliban insurgents to open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar.

Marc Grossman, President Barack Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, begins a diplomatic blitz this weekend that includes talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul and top officials in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Critics of a possible transfer of Taliban prisoners are discussing tactics to block it, even before the Obama administration appears to have made a final decision on the most politically contentious element of its bid to broker an Afghan peace deal.

Administration officials have, under strict conditions of secrecy, briefed senior lawmakers dealing with military, foreign policy and intelligence issues about the proposal that would move five senior Taliban detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba to Afghan custody.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Critics of a possible transfer of Taliban prisoners are discussing tactics to block it, even before the Obama administration appears to have made a final decision on the most politically contentious element of its bid to broker an Afghan peace deal.

Administration officials have, under strict conditions of secrecy, briefed senior lawmakers dealing with military, foreign policy and intelligence issues about the proposal that would move five senior Taliban detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba to Afghan custody.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Critics of a possible transfer of Taliban prisoners are discussing tactics to block it, even before the Obama administration appears to have made a final decision on the most politically contentious element of its bid to broker an Afghan peace deal.

Administration officials have, under strict conditions of secrecy, briefed senior lawmakers dealing with military, foreign policy and intelligence issues about the proposal that would move five senior Taliban detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba to Afghan custody.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. probe on Thursday found both American and Pakistani forces were to blame for a border incident that killed 24 Pakistani troops last month, inflaming already strained ties and deepening doubts about whether Pakistan will help or hinder the U.S. fight in Afghanistan.

The U.S. military blamed Pakistani soldiers for firing at NATO forces as they prepared for a mission in a remote area near Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan close to midnight on November 25.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. probe on Thursday found that both American and Pakistani forces were to blame for an incident that killed 24 Pakistani troops in a remote area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border last month, inflaming already strained bilateral ties.

The U.S. military blamed Pakistani soldiers for firing at NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan, triggering the incident, which took place overnight between November 25-26.