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(Continued from page 33)
• The four-day meeting will discuss the bilateral security pact that defines the role of thousands of U.S. troops who will remain after the NATO combat mission ends in 2014.
• Karzai told the gathering that President Barack Obama assured him actions by U.S. forces after 2014 will respect the safety and security of Afghans.
• The elders have the right to revise or reject any clause of the deal. Their decision will have significant influence on parliament, which has to endorse the pact.
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AP Exclusive: Study finds key members of nuclear missile force feel 'burnout' from their work
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Key members of the Air Force's nuclear missile force are feeling "burnout" from what they see as exhausting, unrewarding and stressful work, according to an unpublished study obtained by The Associated Press.
• The finding by researchers for RAND Corp. adds to indications that trouble inside the nuclear missile force runs deeper and wider than officials have acknowledged.
• The study, provided to the AP in draft form, also cites heightened levels of misconduct like spousal abuse and says court-martial rates in the nuclear missile force in 2011 and 2012 were more than twice as high as in the overall Air Force.
• These indicators add a new dimension to an emerging picture of malaise and worse inside the intercontinental ballistic missile force, an arm of the Air Force with a proud heritage but an uncertain future.
• Late last year the Air Force directed RAND, a federally funded research house, to conduct a three-month study of attitudes among the men and women inside the ICBM force. It found a toxic mix of frustration and aggravation, heightened by a sense of being unappreciated, overworked, micromanaged and at constant risk of failure.
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Iranian envoy: Easing oil, banking sanctions part of nuclear talks
• GENEVA (AP) -- A senior Iranian envoy says nuclear talks have included possible ways to reduce sanctions on oil sales and banking in exchange for curbs in Tehran's atomic program.
• The remarks by negotiator Abbas Araghchi on Iranian state TV reflect the scope of the possible first steps in a deal aimed at easing Western concerns that Iran (Continued on page 35)
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