Militants say they won't deal until foreign troops withdraw
Reuters Nov 17, 08 9:00 AM CST
(Newser)
-
Taliban leaders have rejected Hamid Karzai's guarantee of safe passage in exchange for beginning peace talks, reports Reuters. The militants instead reiterated demands for all foreign troops to leave Afghanistan before any negotiating begins—a condition the Afghan president rejected as unacceptable. Some analysts don't see Mullah Mohammad Omar's rejection as a total loss, however.
More »
President-elect focusing on security, trust, downturn and Gitmo, he tells 60 Minutes
CBS Nov 17, 08 3:35 AM CST
(Newser)
-
National security, the economy and breaking America's addiction to fossil fuels are Barack Obama's key priorities, he revealed in his first sit-down TV interview since becoming president-elect. He's focusing first on security because "transition periods are times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack," he explained on 60 Minutes yesterday. But he's already grappling with an "unprecedented crisis" posed by a plummeting economy.
More »
Will not cave to huge bounty, or US pressure to turn Omar over
Washington Post Nov 16, 08 3:50 PM CST
(Newser)
-
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will ensure the safety of Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar if he agrees to peace talks, the Washington Post reports. "If I say I want protection for Mullah Omar, the international community has two choices: remove me or leave," Karzai said, referring to US demands for Omar to be turned over.
More »
Nine Americans died when hundreds descended on camp
New York Times Nov 4, 08 8:15 AM CST
(Newser)
-
An Afghan police chief and a local government official aided Taliban militants who killed nine American soldiers, an internal military review has found. The July attack came as American and Afghan forces were constructing a base in the country's remote east, when around 200 fighters descended on the soldiers. The insurgents were only driven off after the Americans called in warplanes, helicopters, and artillery, reports the New York Times.
More »
Military will deny exit to some 12K a month through 2009
USA Today Oct 27, 08 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Soldiers are likely to face involuntary extensions of combat duty throughout 2009, USA Today reports, despite repeated Pentagon promises to rely less on the practice. Roughly 12,000 soldiers are hit with “stop loss”—which forces them to stay in the Army after their commitment has expired—each month, and that number is likely to remain constant throughout 2009, assuming the demand for troops remains constant. More than 140,000 have been affected since 2002.
More »
Activists launch growing anti-war movement
Christian Science Monitor Oct 19, 08 5:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
More and more Afghan activists are pushing for a negotiated end to their country’s increasingly violent war, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Thousands have attended peace assemblies throughout Afghanistan, aimed at forcing the government to open public talks with the Taliban. "We need to pressure the Afghan government and the international community to find a solution without using guns,” one activist says.
More »
General assembles brain trust for 100-day review of regional efforts
Washington Post Oct 16, 08 2:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Gen. David Petraeus is assembling a panel of experts to carefully reconsider US strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan, Iran and the surrounding region, reports the Washington Post . He's recruiting a handpicked brain trust of advisers from the private sector, State Department and Pentagon. The group will study the situation for 100 days, with a primary focus on Afghanistan, which Petraeus admits has been "spiralling downward."
More »
Violence, corruption destroying nation, US report reveals
New York Times Oct 9, 08 2:47 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
A soon-to-be released classified report on Afghanistan paints a grim picture of a nation sliding into chaos, the New York Times reports. The report—the most detailed from American intelligence services in years—reveals that rampant corruption and the booming heroin trade has seriously destabilized the country as militants based in Pakistan step up assaults. The US plans to ask NATO allies today to send more troops to shore up security, reports Reuters.
More »
Veteran McCain has support, but wars' toll pushes many toward Obama
Boston Globe Oct 6, 08 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Members of the US military and their families are looking to the November election to address the hardships of military life, but opinions vary as to which candidate will serve them best, the Boston Globe reports. John McCain’s vows to honor service—and promise of higher pay—have clear appeal, but so do Barack Obama’s goals of ending the Iraq war and reuniting families.
More »
ANALYSIS
Bailout bucks could fund 7 space stations, pay salaries for 16M teachers
San Francisco Chronicle Oct 5, 08 6:03 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
With the Treasury Department now in charge of figuring out what holes to plug with its $700 billion in bailout bucks, the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at what else that money could do. Some highlights: Hire 16,062,414 public-school teachers. Pay the average weekly wages of 22 million Americans for one year (based on Department of Labor’s figure of $612 per week).
More »
Crew and craft not damaged, but tensions rise
Associated Press Sep 25, 08 10:34 AM CDT
(AP)
-
Pakistani troops fired at American reconnaissance helicopters patrolling the Afghan-Pakistan border today, heightening tensions as US steps up cross-border operations in a region known as a haven for extremists. Two American OH-58 reconnaissance helicopters were on a routine afternoon patrol in the province of Khost when they received small-arms fire from a Pakistani border post, the army said. Crew and aircraft were not damaged.
More »
Washington Post Sep 10, 08 7:59 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The top US military brass warned Congress today that America needs more troops and a better strategy in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports. "I am not convinced that we're winning" there, said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, though he added: "I'm convinced we can." He and defense chief Robert Gates called for more soldiers to help quell the growing number of militants on the Pakistan border.
More »
But numbers will increase in Afghanistan
Washington Post Sep 9, 08 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Troop levels in Iraq won't change until after George Bush leaves office, the president will announce in a speech today, leaving further withdrawals as an immediate matter for his successor —although Bush will oversee what amounts to a transfer of US troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. The announcement likely represents his last major decision in the pair of wars, the Washington Post reports.
More »