AFGHAN AND NATO TROOPS ARE RAMPING UP THE PRESSURE on the Haqqani network today with operations along the border with Pakistan. Afghan defense officials announced the beginning of the operation at a briefing for reporters on Tuesday. http://bit.ly/rnriuq

PAKISTANI LEADERS ARE ALSO FEELING THE PRESSURE, with army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani telling members of parliament that the United States “will have to think 10 times” before sending any troops across the border into North Waziristan, the Express Tribune reported. “We have made it clear to the US that we will decide the timing of any such action according to our situation and capabilities. We have also told them that the problem lies within Afghanistan. If anyone convinces me that everything will be sorted out if we act in North Waziristan, I will take immediate action,” a member of parliament quoted the general as saying. http://bit.ly/o3WwYM

AFGHAN OPS UPDATE – Afghan and coalition forces Tuesday killed one suspected insurgent and detained several others while searching for a Taliban leader in Sherzad district of Nangarhar province, ISAF spokesman Lt. Gregory Keeley says. The leader was involved in ambush attacks on Afghan forces in the province, he said.

FIVE AFGHAN SOLDIERS WERE KILLED TODAY when their vehicle struck an IED while on patrol in the western province of Herat, the local governor said. http://bit.ly/qTvi12

MILITARY VOTER PARTICIPATION RATES increased by 21 percent from 2006 to 2010, indicating that a 2009 federal law designed to ensure the right of troops to vote was having a positive effect, the Federal Voting Assistance Program said in a report released Tuesday. However, the report also said that the percentage of troops who never got absentee ballots they requested nearly doubled, from 16 percent in 2008 to 29 percent in 2010, indicating continued problems with ballot access. You can read the report here: http://1.usa.gov/qsPqRA

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Charles Hoskinson