President Hamid Karzai dismissed the March 2012 deadline he had set for the closure of private security firms, giving them until September 2013 to operate in the country. The US Special Operations commander who directed the operation that killed Osama bin Laden defended the unpopular night raids used against militants in Afghanistan. Germany, which has over 5,000 troops in Afghanistan, will withdraw 200 soldiers at the start of February 2012.
