In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/16
In Pictures: Dazzle like Beckham
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/15
In Pictures: Duchess Kate's royal baby bump
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/14
In Pictures: Keffiyeh is rebel chic
An Afghan soldier stands guard during a gathering in Gushta district of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 1, 2012. Afghan Defense and Interior Ministers held a meeting with locals in Gushta district of Nangarhar about recent rocket attacks from Pakistan. Rahmat Gul/AP
Afghan police secure the site of a suicide bombing in Khost, south of Kabul, Afghanistan,Oct. 1, 2012. The suicide bomber was driving a motorcycle packed with explosives and rammed it into a patrol of Afghan and international forces, killing over a dozen people. Nashanuddin Khan/AP
German soldiers stand guard on their vehicle outside an Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) checkpoint in the restive Baghlan province in northern Afghanistan, August 22, 2012. Sabine Siebold/Reuters
Afghan Commandos stand in formation during an instructors' training course at their base in Afghanistan's Wardak Province, Oct. 4, 2009. Hundreds of soldiers have been detained or removed from the Afghan National Army in 2012 after a surge in insider attacks against foreign forces. Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Afghan National policemen look on as US soldier Cpl. Joseph Dement (r.) from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division helps train the police on how to apprehend a gunman at an outpost in the Pech Valley, Nov. 5, 2009. David Guttenfelder/AP
Afghan President Hamid Karzai (c.) claps after presenting a certification and sword to a police officer during a graduation ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 17, 2012. Ahmad Jamshid/AP
Police officers listen to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's speech during their graduation ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 17, 2012. Ahmad Jamshid/AP
An injured Afghan man is helped from back of a truck outside a hospital after a suicide attack on a funeral in Durbaba district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 4, 2012. Rahmat Gul/AP
Afghans walk inside a district government building, which was damaged by a twin suicide bomb attack in Wardak province, September 1, 2012. The attack targeted a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan, killing eight civilians and four Afghan policemen, local officials said. Reuters
Afghan police and locals gather at the site of a bomb blast in Kandahar province, August 28, 2012. The chief of police in Afghanistan's Kandahar province has survived the insurgent truck-bomb attack which killed four civilians, a spokeswoman for NATO-led forces and Afghan officials said. Ahmad Nadeem/Reuters
Afghan Local Police, ALP, listen to a speech during a ceremony presenting new uniforms for ALP at Gizab village of Uruzgan province south west of Kabul, Afghanistan, April 24, 2011. US officials said on Sept. 2, 2012 they have halted the training of Afghan Local Police for at least a month. Kamran Jebreili/AP
Newly graduated Afghan national police officers march during a graduation ceremony at a National Police training center in Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 14, 2011. The US military is reviewing the process of vetting new recruits following a spike in deadly attacks on international troops. Rahmat Gul/AP
An Afghan Commando and a US Soldier from 20th Special Forces Group take part in a training exercise in Afghanistan's Wardak Province, Oct. 4, 2009. Hundreds of soldiers have been detained or removed from the Afghan National Army in 2012 after a surge in insider attacks against foreign forces. Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Afghan National Police officers carry boxes of equipment during their graduation ceremony at a National Police training center in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 30, 2012. Rahmat Gul/AP
Afghan Army soldiers relax in their sleeping quarters at their outpost in Logar province, east Afghanistan after returning from a patrol, on May 21, 2012. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghan National Army soldiers patrol outside the village of Noor Khiel, in Logar province, east Afghanistan, May 17, 2012. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
A US Marine take a picture in a trench shared with Afghan Special Forces in Kandagal village, Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan, August 11, 2005. Tomas Munita/AP
ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) helicopters fly in formation at a base outside Kabul, October 3, 2004. Desmond Boylan/Reuters
Afghan National Army soldiers walk up a hill as they arrive for a training session at the Kabul Military Training Center, KMTC, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, March 8, 2012. The Afghan National Army will be tasked with providing security throughout Afghanistan after the last international troops pull out in 2014. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghan detainees are through mesh wire fence inside the Parwan detention facility near Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, March 23, 2011. Afghan and US military officials have signed a deal to transfer oversight of the main US detention center in the country to the Afghan government within six months. Dar Yasin/AP
The mother of Abdul Saboor, the chief suspect in the murder of two US officers at the Afghan Interior Ministry, speaks during an interview in Salang district, Parwan province February 28, 2012. Family and friends are baffled how the policeman who grew up in one of Afghanistan's most peaceful areas may have carried out the high-profile murder of two US officers that has rattled NATO and the Kabul government. Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
US Gen. John Allen, commander of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan gestures during a signing ceremony with Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 9, 2012. Afghan and US military officials have signed a deal to transfer oversight of the main US detention center in the country to the Afghan government. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghan security guards warm themselves by a fire while manning their post near the barracks of US soldiers at Forward Operating Base Connolly in eastern Afghanistan on March 4, 2012. Erik De Castro/Reuters
US military officer Lt. Janelle Along, leader of a platoon that lost two soldiers when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them, listens during a 'Combat Patch' ceremony at Forward Operating Base Connolly in eastern Afghanistan, March 3, 2012. Erik De Castro/Reuters
An Afghan policeman keeps watch during clashes with protesters in Kabul, Feb. 24, 2012. Twelve people were killed as protests raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence. Omar Sobhani/Reuters
In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/16
In Pictures: Dazzle like Beckham
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/15
In Pictures: Duchess Kate's royal baby bump
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/14
In Pictures: Keffiyeh is rebel chic
By December 2014 the Afghan National Security Forces that have been built by the US and NATO will be left to largely stand on their own.
Afghanistan is suffering a crisis of confidence – and given what’s on the horizon, it's not so difficult to see why.
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