Troops Despair, Question Afghan Mission: Chaplains

Kunar province among Afghanistan's most violent

(NEWSER) - Six US soldiers were killed during an attack on an insurgent hideout near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, the Washington Post reports. The deaths that resulted from the helicopter-driven assault are the latest reminder of the US struggle in the isolated Kunar province. The US has lately shifted its attention away from the region—one of Afghanistan’s most violent since 2005—concentrating instead on population centers. More»

...who will watch over them as they sleep. Literally

(NEWSER) - As the number of green-on-blue attacks steadily climbs, US troops in Afghanistan will receive a new protector: "guardian angels." These safekeepers are the flesh-and-blood kind, actual troops who will watch over their sleeping comrades. It's one of a number of new security measures ordered by the US top-dog in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John Allen. Among the other changes: Troops can now keep their weapons on them in a number of Afghan ministries, and desks are being rearranged so that they face the door, to better observe who is entering. More»

Troops organize for tough spring fighting

(NEWSER) - As insurgent attacks have fallen in Afghanistan's southern provinces, the US is turning its focus toward the east, where such attacks jumped 20% last year. With the US set to take on an advisory role next year, the mountainous eastern region is poised to be the war's "final battleground" as the area's paralyzing winter snows melt, the Wall Street Journal observes. Troops are preparing for a "much tougher" fight in the region, which surrounds Kabul, a major insurgent target. "They are going to come out at us very hard," says Marine Gen. John Allen—possibly as soon as tomorrow. More»

Details surface about staff sergeant, but identity not revealed

(NEWSER) - Details are beginning to emerge about the still-unnamed soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians yesterday. An official who spoke to the New York Times says the Army staff sergeant was part of a village stabilization operation in the rural Panjwai district of Kandahar, in which Green Berets forge close ties with communities in an attempt to track down Taliban leaders. Other soldiers support the Green Berets in such operations, and an official says the suspect himself was not a Green Beret. Another official tells the Times the suspect has been in the Army 11 years; a third says he is 38, married with two children, and served three tours in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan for the first time in December. More»

Reports vary, but murders could push US-Afghan relations to the brink

(NEWSER) - US and Afghan officials alike are scrambling in the wake of today's rampage that claimed the lives of 16 Afghan civilians , as relations between the two nations threaten to boil over. The latest reactions, along with emerging details:

• Reuters has the most incendiary report, alleging that more than one US servicemember was involved in the shooting spree, and that the Americans were "laughing and appeared drunk." "They were all drunk and shooting all over the place. Their bodies were riddled with bullets," a neighbor says. Adds a father who lost his children, "They (Americans) poured chemicals over their dead bodies and burned them."