Afghanistan war: U.S. may stay in Afghanistan until 2024

  In the middle of November President Karzai held a four day loya jirga a meeting of over 2,000 tribal elders. His aim was to gain support for his plan to have U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan up to a full ten years after the present plans to hand over security to Afghans in 2014.
  Karzai and the U.S. had been planning an agreement back in August as this Telegraph article shows. Rather than presenting his plans directly to parliament President Karzai invited this large group of elders to the loya jirga and gain support first from them. It worked. He did get support but with several important provisos.
   The group suggested that Karzai talk to the Americans about an extension of  troop presence only if night raids were stopped. They also insisted that any detainees be handed over to Afghan custody. Finally they want the parliament to pass any agreement. The resolution from the group is non-binding so that one can expect Karzai will do his best to get around any provisions that he or the Americans find unacceptable.
   Meanwhile night raids continue to take their toll. Helicopters fired rockets in the Zairi district of Kandahar province that killed 3 Afghan women. The week before a NATO air strike killed nine civilians in the same area. As with  these news events, the news that the U.S. may be staying in Afghanistan until 2024 does not seem to be widely distributed. Are all those expert talking heads on major TV networks discussing this issue?  For more see here.