Almost 1,000 delegates from Afghanistan, NATO, and neighboring countries met in Bonn, Germany to discuss the future of Afghanistan. The talks happened in the context of the planned withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan by 2014. The meeting had a sense of deja vu; 10 years ago, in this same city, in the same hotel, Afghan leaders met to discuss the future of Afghanistan. Back then, it was just months after the 9/11 attacks, the American-led invasion of Afghanistan, and the fall of the Taliban. In 2001, at Bonn I, the goal was to establish Afghanistan as a country. Prominent Afghans came together to create a transitional government, a plan for drafting a constitution, and a path towards establishing a permanent government. In 2011, at Bonn II, the goal is much the same: to ensure that a secure, democratic, non-corrupt Afghanistan can stand on its own.
For more on the conference, The Takeaway speaks to BBC correspondent David Loyn.