Article Photos: New Afghan war phase, with no decisive end seen



  This photo taken Oct. 10, 2012 shows Army Brig. Gen. John Charlton, left, foreground, talking to members of the Afghan National Civil Order Police at a military base in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. A new chapter of the Afghanistan war is opening with a slimmed-down Western force doing more advising than fighting, a resilient Taliban showing little interest in peace talks, and Americans tempted to pull the plug on a conflict now in its 12th year. A decisive end seems nowhere in sight. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)

This photo taken Oct. 10, 2012 shows Army Brig. Gen. John Charlton, left, foreground, talking to members of the Afghan National Civil Order Police at a military base in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. A new chapter of the Afghanistan war is opening with a slimmed-down Western force doing more advising than fighting, a resilient Taliban showing little interest in peace talks, and Americans tempted to pull the plug on a conflict now in its 12th year. A decisive end seems nowhere in sight. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)