Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of NATO and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan, takes a moment to himself to reflect during 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, 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.