Afghanistan cracks down on advertising in favor of U.S. troops

01-22-2014 • Reuters

Afghanistan's government, increasingly at odds with Washington, is cracking down on advertisements that promote keeping U.S. troops in the country after 2014 and has already shut down a spot aired by the country's most widely watched broadcasters.

The commercials - some funded by a U.S. organization - have drawn official criticism because they urge President Hamid Karzai to abandon his refusal to sign a security pact with the United States that would enable the troops to stay.

Broadcasters, which ran the spots for several weeks, came under investigation on grounds that their source of funding was unclear....