A top Pentagon official said Saturday Us President Barack Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan would be certain to include reinforcements of foreign troops from both the US and allied nations. Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy said a strategy decision on new deployments involving the US and other troop-contributing nations would be made within the next few weeks, according to an official transcript released Saturday. Flournoy, the Pentagon's policy chief, led a US delegation that briefed NATO ambassadors Thursday on the Obama administration's review of the Afghan war. Officials released a transcript of her remarks from that meeting. 7 Afghan soldiers killed NATO forces mistakenly killed seven Afghan soldiers and police in an air strike during a battle while searching for two missing US soldiers in Afghanistan, the Afghan Defense Ministry said Saturday. The NATO-led force said none of its troops were killed but five were wounded, along with at least 20 Afghans, in a battle that took place Friday during a manhunt for the two soldiers who went missing Wednesday. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said that the top UN official in the country overstepped his authority by giving instructions on how to rid the government of corruption and warlords. Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide “delivered comments which exceeded international norms and his authority as a representative of an impartial organization,” the ministry said in a statement. It was strongest indication yet that the administration of President Hamid Karzai will resist prescriptions from the international community on how to rein in corruption or regional leaders.
