The ISAF is crucial to the country's stability in the run-up to the loya jirga, or tribal gathering, in June that will determine who will lead the country in the two years until elections are held.

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He refrained from doing so even when he was presented with strong evidence that an attack on a tribal gathering he convened in Kabul in June was carried out by the Haqqani network, one of the three leading insurgent groups, which has close links to Pakistan's intelligence service.

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Now, three years ago, I was proud to see that this conference was the largest gathering of tribal leaders in our history.

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The council is supposed to convene a gathering of tribal leaders and other notables called a Loya Jirga, which in turn is to choose an interim government.

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They launched the book in March at the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas, an annual gathering of tribal leaders, state and local elected officials and top CEOs from Indian Country.

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