A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging for a diplomatic approach to working with Afghanistan.
At the same time, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has renewed his call for US-led NATO forces to put an end to the bombardment of homes and the killing of civilians in Afghanistan.
"Even when they are under attack they cannot use any airplane to bomb Afghan homes, even when they are under attack. And I had an argument with them, I said do you do this in the United States?" Karzai said in a news conference on Tuesday.
"One of the objectives for us behind signing the partnership agreement was to turn a new page into the relationship between us and NATO and into the way operations take place in Afghanistan against terrorism by NATO," the Afghan leader added.
The call by the Afghan president comes in response to a US-led air raid on June 6 in the village of Sajawand in Logar Province.
The pre-dawn operation was to target suspected militant targets, but the bombs hit a wedding ceremony instead, killing 18 civilians including women and children.
The rise in civilian casualties in NATO attacks has strained relations between Kabul and its Western allies, who are under increasing pressure at home over the unpopular war.
The fallout from the attack has forced the commander of the US troops in Afghanistan to issue an order restricting airstrikes on Afghan homes.
Following a Saturday meeting with US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and US Gen. John Allen, the commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, Karzai said he had been given a "commitment" that the Western alliance would halt airstrikes on residential areas.
But Allen made it clear on Monday that the military coalition will still use air-delivered munitions against civilian dwellings as “the last resort” to ensure the defense of our soldiers.
