Congress cut the US military and development aid budget for Afghanistan for this year to $1.1 billion, down from last year’s $2.1 billion, in the wake of President Karzai’s refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement and reports of waste and fraud in Afghanistan. The Karzai government has released an inflammatory report making false claims about a US raid in Afghanistan. The Air Force plans to start deploying Global Hawk drones from Misawa Air Base in Japan this summer.
