Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of NATO

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of NATO and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker are greeted by senior Afghan officers upon their arrival to an Afghanistan Independence Day celebration at the Ministry of National Defense in Kabul, Aug. 19. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai attended the event and placed a floral wreath at the base of the marble independence memorial near his palace. Afghan Independence Day is celebrated in Afghanistan on Aug. 19 to commemorate the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919. The treaty granted independence from Britain; although Afghanistan was never officially a part of the British Empire.