Clinton will meet Karzai and other Afghan officials, U.S. officials said, and hold a round-table meeting with non-government leaders and civil society activists. She will also hold a joint news conference with the Afghan president.
U.S. officials said Clinton would also discuss the future "strategic partnership" between Afghanistan and the United States after 2014, with an eye to eventually formalizing the alliance.
"She'll want to point to that as a signal to Afghans, to the region, that the United States will remain committed to Afghanistan beyond 2014."
PAKISTAN AND THE REGION
Clinton is expected to preview plans for conferences on the future of Afghanistan due to be held in Istanbul in November and Bonn in December which U.S. officials hope will tighten international cooperation on political and economic strategies to stabilize the country.
She is also expected to discuss ties between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, accused by officials in both Afghanistan and the United States with working to undercut the U.S.-led military campaign in order to protect its influence in the region.
Ties between Kabul and Islamabad have been particularly strained since the assassination of Rabbani, who was killed by a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban reconciliation envoy.
Many Afghans, including senior officials, have accused the Pakistan government of having links to the killing, and accused their neighbor of fomenting instability to further its own political interests. Pakistan denies this.
Karzai has been more circumspect, but hinted after the killing that he had lost hope in pursuing peace talks with the Taliban and suggested negotiations with Pakistan instead.
Top U.S. officials have also accused Pakistan of supporting insurgent groups in Afghanistan after September's 20-hour attack on diplomatic targets in Kabul, including the U.S. embassy.
But President Barack Obama and Clinton have both stressed that the U.S. relationship with Pakistan is too important to abandon, although Clinton said last week if Islamabad did not help solve Afghanistan's difficulties it would "continue to be part of the problem."
(Writing by Christine Kearney and Andrew Quinn, editing by Emma Graham-Harrison and Andrew Heavens)
Online Newspaper Article
President Barak Obama Announcement
10/21/2011
President Barack Obama will announce Friday that he will withdraw all US forces from Iraq by the end of the year, more than eight years after the US invasion, a US official said.
Obama was to make a statement at 1645 GMT in the White House after holding a secure video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the apparent failure of talks with Iraq on extending a small US troop presence.
"Today the president will announce that we will fulfill our commitment and complete the drawdown of US troops from Iraq by the end of the year," a White House official said.
"This will allow us to say definitively that the Iraq war is over, and that the partnership between the US and Iraq will be a normal one between two sovereign nations.
"During their conversation, President Obama and Prime Minister Maliki strongly agreed that this is the best way forward for both countries."
Talks on extending the US troop presence appear to have foundered over the question of legal immunity for US troops.
The 39,000 remaining US troops in Iraq must withdraw by the end of the year under a bilateral security accord, which remains in force if no post-2011 deal is agreed.
US commanders had hoped to keep a small contingent of American troops on the ground in Iraq after 2011 to help train Baghdad's forces, bolster the country's fledgling air and naval defenses as well as counter the influence of neighboring Iran.
The discussions with Iraq were focused on a "limited" training mission for US troops that would go beyond the standard security cooperation efforts handled by American embassies in other capitals, officials said.
Email Letter Sixty
Dear Mr. Prime Minister Steven Harper
10/21/2011
Jobs Growth Stimulus Ideas To Help Create Jobs In Canada
Finance Minister
The Next Three Years Of Government Operations
Small Towns With A Population Base Of About 5000-10,000 People.
Creating employment in the many small towns across Canada can be difficult to accomplish.
Tonight I went to a charity auction function and sat beside the mayor of our small town. I asked him why our community does not have an economic development officer. After all you’re not going to attract employment growth into a community without a department that takes responsibility to create that employment for that community.
The mayor told me the tax payers are not willing to increase taxes to pay for the employment of such a department.
However we have a new Ramada Inn hotel being build and also have a new 20 million dollar community center that is hoping to attract conventions into the community.
I told the mayor the right person may be able to create a fund raiser to create a funding base to pay for the economic development position.
The mayor then told me people in the community people will only contribute to nonprofit programs that help special causes in the community.
I then asked the mayor if they could hire an economic development person on commission basis based on new tax revenues created for the community.
The mayor told me they have tried that once and failed so they are not willing to try that commission idea again.
What comes to my mind is how many mayors in small towns across Canada have the same issue and how is this challenging shaping the unemployment numbers in Canada?
If I am right, this lack of desire to create new employment for a community ends up turning into a Federal Canada government challenge issue that can shape future elections, because if you have enough of these type of mayors that have failed, the Canadian job growth market will suffer greatly.
All the mayor really wants to do is run the small town business and not take responsibility for the employment issues that are, driving out the youth out of small towns and into cities. Leaving the town in an “unemployable person” position that prevents companies from investing in the small community, because if they do, all you have are retired people left in the community.
What I wonder is can the government design an educational program that can target mayors in small towns under 10,000 people.
My idea revolves around a three step solution.
Step One
Design an economic development program that offers an educational course to the mayor full of economic development ideas that will help him create employment opportunities and investment in his or her town.
Restore the confidence in their ability to create employment.
A Federal government web site that networks all small towns in Canada. A website which the mayor and town can register on and create a web page on what that community, can offer to prospective Canadian and global companies that are looking to expand their investment business opportunities in Canada.
A Federal government small business tax incentive for corporations willing to expand their business into small towns in Canada.
Step