Afghanistan war

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Karzai Blocks US Officials From Afghan's Central Bank

Audit criticizes his lack of cooperation to fight money laundering

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai isn't exactly making it easy for the US to curb money laundering and corruption in Afghanistan, a new audit finds. Among other things, Karzai won't let US Treasury advisers into the nation's central bank—the same bank that can't seem to find $900 million...

In Afghanistan, US Troops Begin to Withdraw

The first of them left this week

(Newser) - President Obama's troop drawdown has begun: About 650 troops left after their rotations ended Wednesday, and they will not be replaced. "As part of the drawdown the first US troops have left Afghanistan," says a military spokesperson. About a third of the 100,000 US forces in...

Army Ranger Leroy Petry Awarded Medal of Honor

Sergeant lost hand throwing live grenade away from comrades

(Newser) - An Army Ranger from New Mexico who lost his right hand saving the lives of two fellow soldiers in Afghanistan has become only the second living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Sgt. First Class Leroy Petry had already been shot in both legs during a...

Ahmad Wali Karzai's Assassination Will Likely Set Off Bloody Power Struggle
Only Thing Clear in Karzai
Kin Slaying: It's a Mess
OPINION roundup
Jul 12, 2011 1:00 PM CDT

Only Thing Clear in Karzai Kin Slaying: It's a Mess

Ahmad Wali Karzai's death will likely set off a bloody power struggle

(Newser) - So what does the killing of Hamid Karzai's powerful half-brother in southern Afghanistan mean for the war effort? Such is the contradiction of Ahmad Wali Karzai that the only answer seems to be "stay tuned":
  • Mark Thompson, Time : The killing of the "godfather of Kandahar" is horrible
...

iPhone App Tracks Taliban Fighters

Army captain designed Tactical Nav for combat use

(Newser) - An iPhone app designed to track down Taliban positions and call in covering fire if necessary is being offered for sale on iTunes. US Army Captain Jonathan Springer says he came up with the idea for the app—which is being marketed to hikers as well as soldiers—after two...

Obama Right to Stop Petraeus&#39; &#39;Moby Dick&#39; War
Obama Right to Stop Petraeus' 'Moby Dick' War
opinion
Jul 2, 2011 2:00 PM CDT

Obama Right to Stop Petraeus' 'Moby Dick' War

He finally rejects misguided 'bigger is better' Afghan strategy: Steve Clemons

(Newser) - President Obama's decision to bring home 30,000 troops by the end of next year isn't getting much praise, writes Steve Clemons at the Atlantic . Critics think it's either too much too fast or too little too slow. But Obama and Joe Biden "have it just...

US War Pricetag Nears $4 Trillion
 US Wars Price Tag Nears $4T 
Jun 30, 2011 4:52 AM CDT

US Wars Price Tag Nears $4T

Action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan approaching cost of WWII: study

(Newser) - The real cost of American military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan dwarfs the $1.3 trillion appropriated on Capitol Hill, according to a study by Brown University's nonpartisan Eisenhower Research Project. The study estimates that the war bills already paid or obligated to be paid are at least...

Toll at 19 in Kabul Hotel Attack

Government launches investigation into security 'loophole'

(Newser) - The death toll from last night's Taliban assault on a Kabul hotel now stands at 19, including all eight attackers, the AP reports. The 11 civilians killed include three police officers and a judge; 18 others were wounded. Afghan police are searching the hotel for other victims or security...

NATO Choppers End Standoff at Kabul Hotel

At least 7 people dead after Taliban attack

(Newser) - NATO helicopters fired rockets at gunmen on the rooftop of a besieged Kabul hotel , ending a more than four-hour standoff between militants and police that left at least seven dead and eight others wounded, Afghan officials said. Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said six suicide bombers attacked the Inter-Continental hotel...

Top Kabul Hotel Under Attack

Assailants strike at Inter-Continental Hotel

(Newser) - One of Kabul's top hotels is under siege, reports the BBC . Initial sketchy reports suggest that several gunmen and suicide bombers got into the Inter-Continental Hotel about 10pm local time and were exchanging fire with security forces. No official word yet on casualties amid the chaos, but a US...

Washington Loves War




 Washington Loves War 
Joe Scarborough
Jun 28, 2011 1:24 PM CDT

Washington Loves War

Conservatives can stand up against that without being 'isolationists': Scarborough

(Newser) - There are some ugly truths about Washington that persist no matter which party is in power: Spending always increases, Wall Street donors always get taken care of, and, maybe most troublesome, “the city’s political gears are always greased for war,” writes Joe Scarborough for Politico . Obama has...

What We&#39;ve Learned From Robert Gates
 What We've 
 Learned From 
 Robert Gates 
analysis
Jun 28, 2011 7:20 AM CDT

What We've Learned From Robert Gates

A look back at the retiring defense secretary's career

(Newser) - With Robert Gates, who has served eight presidents over four decades, about to retire, the Washington Post looks back at how Gates operated in the Pentagon. He’s been “careful, conservative, and consensus-oriented,” writes Greg Jaffe, and he’s “earned a reputation as the most ruthlessly efficient...

Afghanistan: Girl, 8, Used as Unwitting Suicide Bomber

Attackers have 'no respect for anything,' says politician

(Newser) - An 8-year-old girl became an unwitting suicide bomber in an attack on police today, according to Afghanistan's interior ministry. Insurgents gave the child a package and told her to bring it to police, detonating the explosives as she neared them. No one else was killed in the attack, reports...

Car Bomb at Afghan Clinic Kills at Least 25

Casualty reports chaotic

(Newser) - A suicide attacker blew up his explosives-laden SUV outside of a small medical clinic about 25 miles east of Kabul today, killing at least 25 people, Afghan authorities said. The Afghan Health Ministry initially said in a statement that some 60 people were killed and 120 wounded. But at a...

France Backs Obama's Afghan Drawdown, Plans Its Own

Sarkozy has 4,000 troops there

(Newser) - A mere 12 hours after President Obama spoke on his Afghanistan drawdown, France offered its support for the plan. It will also begin a pullout of its 4,000 troops next month, “in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements,”...

Once Burned, Afghans Fear Repeat of 1989

Troop withdrawal could lead to instability, some fear

(Newser) - Political leaders in Afghanistan are concerned that President Obama's decision to start withdrawing US forces could lead to a repeat of the US withdrawal in 1989, when Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was allowed to gain major influence. "We don't want to go back 20 years when [ISI...

GOP Hopefuls React to Obama War Speech

Pawlenty, Romney hawkish as Huntsman calls for faster withdrawal

(Newser) - The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan could become a major bone of contention among the GOP's 2012 hopefuls, judging by their differing responses to President Obama's speech outlining the US drawdown.
  • Tim Pawlenty took the most hawkish position, calling the decision to bring all the surge forces
...

Obama: 'Time to Focus on Nation-Building' at Home

33K 'surge' troops will be home by next summer

(Newser) - President Obama outlined his Afghanistan strategy in a prime-time address tonight, with no late surprises on the numbers: As expected , the US will bring home 10,000 troops by the end of 2011 and rest of the "surge" force (about 23,000 troops) by the end of next summer,...

Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by End of 2012
Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by Fall of 2012
speech preview
Jun 22, 2011 3:42 PM CDT

Obama to Bring Home 30K Troops by Fall of 2012

That's faster than the military would like in Afghanistan

(Newser) - A few hours ahead of President Obama's prime-time address on Afghanistan, administration officials are leaking some main points to the AP , Washington Post , and the New York Times :
  • Obama will bring home 10,000 troops this year and another 20,000 or so by the end of next summer.
...

Taliban's Share of Afghan Civilian Deaths Rises

They're behind 85% of civilian deaths, coalition says

(Newser) - Coalition forces in Afghanistan say their efforts to avoid collateral damage are paying off. Insurgents, by their estimates, are now responsible for 85% of civilian deaths and injuries in the war, up from 75% of deaths and 78% of injuries last year. “The vast majority of civilian casualties are...

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