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NEWS ABOUT: Hamid Karzai

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US Eyes Switch to Special Ops in Afghanistan

Focus to be on training, special missions, not policing

(Newser) - The United States may be wrapping up its combat operations in Afghanistan a year early, but the fight against insurgents and terrorists will continue in the form of US special forces, who are expected to stay in the country well after 2014, reports the New York Times . According to the... More »

US-Taliban Talks Stumble

Afghan fighters oppose cease-fire proposed by Washington

(Newser) - Long-rumored talks between the US and Taliban officials just got started and are already faltering, MSNBC reports. Meeting in Qatar, Taliban representatives balked today at Washington's demand for a cease-fire before negotiating a prisoner swap. "Our stance is the same. We will announce a cease-fire when the... More »

Sarkozy Wants Out of Afghanistan Next Year

France will withdraw combat troops by the end of 2013

(AP) - France and Afghanistan agree NATO should speed up by a year its timetable for handing all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said today, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance. Sarkozy also announced that all French combat troops will leave the... More »

Panetta Calls Karzai Over Marines' Video

Two of the four servicemen have been identified

(Newser) - The US went into full damage control mode today over a video that surfaced yesterday that appeared to show four Marines urinating on Taliban fighters' corpses . Leon Panetta called Hamid Karzai to decry the video, and he issued a statement calling the actions "entirely inappropriate," the Wall Street ... More »

US-Taliban Peace Talks Could Resume Within Weeks

Hamid Karzai just needs to give the OK

(Newser) - Peace talks between the US and the Taliban could resume within weeks, just as soon as Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives the go-ahead. The last tentative deal, which involved transferring five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay into Afghan custody, fell apart in December because Karzai would not cooperate, the Washington ... More »

Karzai to US: Hand Over Bagram Prison

Miffed Afghan president accuses US of human rights abuses

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai today demanded that the US give up control of its prison in Bagram by the end of the month, over what his office called "many cases of violations of Afghan Constitution … and human rights." It's a familiar demand—Afghan officials announced they had a... More »

Afghanistan Probes Teen Bride's Torture

Sahar Gul kept in in-laws' basement after refusing prostitution: police

(Newser) - Afghanistan's president has ordered an investigation following reports that a 15-year-old girl was locked in her in-laws' basement and tortured. Police say they rescued Sahar Gul last month after her parents said they hadn't seen her for months. The girl had been starved and "we saw her... More »

Kabul Demands Lead Role in Taliban Talks

Afghanistan wants no foreign influence in negotiations

(Newser) - Afghanistan today told foreign powers to take a back seat in talks with the Taliban and let Kabul lead the way, Reuters reports. Afghanistan's High Peace Council put its foot down after the US, Qatar, and Germany secretly set up an office for the Taliban in Qatar to continue... More »

US May Swap Gitmo Inmates for Taliban Peace Deal

Negotiations near breakthrough, US officials say

(Newser) - After many months of secretive negotiations, peace talks between the US and the Taliban are at a turning point, reports Reuters , which cites senior US officials speaking under condition of anonymity. The US is considering transferring Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Afghan custody in return for concessions from the... More »

Karzai: Pakistan Behind Kabul Attack

Death toll hits 60 in twin Afghanistan bombings

(AP) - Hamid Karzai vowed today to confront the government in Islamabad over a devastating suicide bombing against a Shiite shrine in Kabul that he said originated on Pakistani soil. At least 56 people were killed in yesterday's bombing at the shrine, and four more when a second bomb hit a... More »

Afghanistan: We Need Aid Through 2024—or Longer

Karzai wants political, military support until then, financial aid until 2030

(Newser) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai today called for continued political and military support in his country until 2024—a full decade beyond the planned 2014 withdrawal of American and other forces. "We will need your steadfast support for at least another decade," Karzai said to a group of leaders... More »

US General Ousted After Dissing Karzai

Peter Fuller called Afghan leaders 'out of touch with reality'

(Newser) - One of the highest-ranking US commanders in Afghanistan didn't get that Stanley McChrystal memo about watching your tongue in the presence of reporters. Major Gen. Peter Fuller has been relieved of command after bad-mouthing Hamid Karzai and other Afghan leaders, reports CNN . Fuller made the comments in this Politico... More »

Karzai: In US vs. Pakistan, We Pick Pakistan

Remarks come just two days after Clinton visit

(Newser) - So how well received was Hillary Clinton's admonition to Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he had to step up pressure on Pakistan to stop sending militants into Afghanistan? On Thursday, Karzai seemed to be on board, even slamming his neighbor to the east. Yesterday? Not so much. "If... More »

Clinton, Karzai Joke About Herman Cain

2012 candidate doesn't know the difference between 'all the 'stans'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton started today’s meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai with a chuckle over Hermain Cain’s recent Uzbekistan remarks. (The presidential hopeful said that if he was asked about the president of “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan,” he would answer, “I don't know. Do you know?”) As... More »

Clinton Pushes Taliban Talks in Surprise Afghan Visit

She will press Karzai to keep trying to woo insurgents

(AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton is personally encouraging Afghanistan's wary leadership to keep up Taliban reconciliation efforts. Clinton arrived in Kabul today on an unannounced visit and was scheduled to see President Hamid Karzai and other top Afghan officials tomorrow. Her trip came after Karzai expressed frustration with attempts to woo... More »

Afghan Spies Foil Karzai Assassination

One of his body guards, several college students arrested

(AP) - Afghan intelligence officials say they have foiled an assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, arresting six people in Kabul who they say are affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Haqqani militant group. Those arrested included one of Karzai's body guards, three college students, and a university professor, according to an... More »

Ex-Afghan President Rabbani Assassinated

Suicide bomber entered his Kabul home with explosives in turban

(AP) - Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani was assassinated today, dealing a harsh blow to peace efforts after a decade of war. Officials say a suicide bomber concealing explosives in his turban entered Rabbani's house in Kabul and blew himself up; four of Rabbani's bodyguards also died and a key... More »

Afghan Desertion Rates Soar as US Withdraws

Officials blame poor Afghan leadership, but increase a concern

(Newser) - Desertions from the Afghan army are soaring this year, amounting to one in seven of the country's 170,000 soldiers in the first six months of 2011, and casting doubts on the government's ability to maintain its own security, reports the Washington Post . The trend—more than twice... More »

Afghans Leaked US-Taliban Talks to End Them

US contact Tayyab Aga has fled to Europe

(Newser) - Someone in the Afghan presidential palace intentionally leaked the news that the US was negotiating with the Taliban, scuttling the talks and sending the US contact into hiding, sources tell the AP . Hamid Karzai didn't trust the US and feared any deal between it and the Taliban would diminish... More »

US Troops May Stay in Afghanistan Until 2024

Telegraph : Deal would keep 'thousands'

(Newser) - The US already has spent a decade fighting in Afghanistan, and the Telegraph suggests it might spend a decade or so more. The British paper reports that US and Afghan officials are close to a deal that would keep "thousands" of US troops in the country until 2024—not... More »

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