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NEWS ABOUT: Afghanistan war

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Karzai, White House Mend Fences; Visit On

Afghan president will travel to Washington next month as scheduled

(Newser) - The Obama administration and Hamid Karzai have buried the hatchet, and the Afghan president will visit Washington next month as scheduled, reports the Washington Post . The White House had threatened to call off the visit because of Karzai's recent shenanigans—including a vow to join the Taliban if Afghanistan's Western... More »

Taliban Leader Edges Closer to Peace Talks

Omar apparently no longer interested in ruling Afghanistan

(Newser) - Peace talks with the Taliban? The Times of London thinks it's a possibility after an interview with two liaisons of supreme leader Mullar Omar. The language is iffy—the story says Omar "indicated" that he "may be willing" to talk with western politicians—but an unnamed US military... More »

Korengal Valley's Toll Should Be Warning to US

We're leaving it, but how many more will die before we quit Afghanistan?

(Newser) - The US decision to pull out of the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan is no doubt the smart thing to do, writes Eugene Robinson. After all, our troops spent 5 years there and gained only 3 miles at the cost of 42 lives. That kind of fighting in remote territory doesn't... More »

Obama Doubles Special Ops in Afghanistan

Administration fears time is running out to stop Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration has more than doubled the number of special forces in Afghanistan, tasking them with hunting down Taliban leaders—in part because it’s worried that the US has a dwindling window to defang the insurgency before its scheduled 2011 withdrawal, senior officials tell the LA Times . They’... More »

Civilian Contractor Deaths Soar in Afghanistan

In a first, support teams now outnumber soldiers

(Newser) - As the US ramps up its military presence in Afghanistan, life is becoming decidedly more dangerous for civilian contractors. Of the 289 killed there since the war started, 100 died in the last 6 months, reports ProPublica . And in what is apparently a first, the number of civilian workers (107,... More »

US Abandons Afghan Valley Where 42 Americans Died

Five-year Afghanistan battle deemed a mistake

(Newser) - The last US troops left Korengal Valley this morning, ending five years of seemingly pointless combat. Before dawn an American captain showed local village elders around what used to be the US base, the Washington Post reports, showing them the bullet-ridden crane and full fuel bladder they’d traded for... More »

Afghans Riot After US Troops Kill Bus Passengers

Civilian death spark outrage before Kandahar push

(Newser) - Anti-American riots swept Kandahar yesterday after American troops opened fire on a passenger bus, killing at least 4 civilians and wounding 18. Accounts of the incident—which deals a massive blow to NATO's hopes of winning over the local population before its upcoming offensive in the area—vary widely. NATO... More »

Karzai's the Best We've Got. Deal With It

We need him to win the Afghanistan war, so grow up and stop undercutting him

(Newser) - Sure, Hamid Karzai is a "vain, mercurial, hypersensitive man" presiding over "a system that is massively corrupt." But the US still should—and must—learn to work with him, Fareed Zakaria writes in the Washington Post . There is no alternative to Karzai, Zakaria argues; if the US... More »

Crazy Karzai Regime Is 'Too Big to Fail'

Erratic Afghan leader understands how deep US is in, acts accordingly

(Newser) - The US is engaged in “asymmetrical” warfare with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Fred Kaplan writes, but it also suffers an asymmetrical relationship with an increasingly erratic head of state—Hamid Karzai. His regime “depends entirely on the United States,” sure, but because Western powers “have—and... More »

CIA Drones Batter Pakistan Militants

'Fast and furious' drone campaign hits Qaeda, Taliban hard

(Newser) - Stepped-up CIA drone attacks in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan have hit al-Qaeda and the Taliban hard in recent months, forcing many militants to retreat to mountain tunnels and placing the Haqqani leaders under increasing pressure. Bombardment of the militant stronghold has become "fast and furious" this year,... More »

Petraeus for President: UK Journo

Disaffected voters look to military for credibility, inspiration: Toby Harnden

(Newser) - The American political parties are in shambles, and in the credibility gap that plagues voters and candidates alike, a dark horse is emerging: David Petraeus. The head of Central Command evokes Dwight Eisenhower, because not since Ike's heyday "have the chances of a military man winning the White House... More »

How We're Failing MLK

We've let him down on poverty and war

(Newser) - Forty-two years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the nation has let him down on two important fronts:
  • Poverty: "All these decades later, little has changed when it comes to economic equality," write Bill Moyers and Michael Winship in Salon . "If anything, the recent economic
... More »

Karzai Becoming a Paranoid, Unreliable Ally

Insiders say Afghan president thinks US wants to stay indefinitely

(Newser) - Tensions are mounting between the US and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who appears to be becoming an increasingly unreliable ally. “Karzai was enraged,” an insider tells the New York Times of Obama's decision to rescind a White House invitation to Karzai over his decision to... More »

Obama Rallies US Forces in Afghanistan

On surprise visit, president speaks to cheering crowd

(Newser) - Wrapping up his 6-hour surprise visit to Afghanistan with a speech before a crowd of service members, President Obama said today, "There's no visit that I considered more important than this visit that I'm making right now." After spending the early part of his overnight trip pressing Hamid... More »

Obama Leans on Karzai to Beef Up Cooperation

Surprise visit to Afghanistan spotlights emphasis on civilian cooperation

(Newser) - President Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan today is in large part intended to impress upon the Afghan government the necessity of fighting crime and corruption in preparation to govern without American intervention. After meeting with Hamid Karzai, Obama said he was happy with the military accomplishments in the country, "... More »

U2 Spy Plane Soars Again in Afghanistan

With technology old and new, plane provides valuable intel

(Newser) - A relic of the Cold War era is nothing of the kind, as the US military increasingly uses its aging fleet of high altitude U2 spy planes to conduct real-time surveillance in Afghanistan. Retrofitted with modern electronics, the U2 and its pilot can monitor the battlefield, provide crucial communications to... More »

Afghanistan Cops Still Bumbling and Corrupt

America's big investment isn't paying off: ProPublica

(Newser) - America's $6 billion investment to build an Afghan police force is summed up as a "disaster" in a joint report by ProPublica and Newsweek . Not only do Afghan cops remain the gang that couldn't shoot straight—literally—they're prone to selling guns and ammo to the Taliban to make... More »

Guess Which War Has the Best Movies

A look at Rotten Tomatoes gives the crown to the Civil War

(Newser) - The new Steven Spielberg-Tom Hanks series The Pacific got the folks at New York magazine's the Vulture blog wondering which war has produced the best movies. They looked up every one they could think of at Rotten Tomatoes, then averaged the scores. The winner: the Civil War. Here are the... More »

Patrick Kennedy Loses It on House Floor

Rhode Island Congressman blasts media for Afghanistan Coverage

(Newser) - Patrick Kennedy blasted the media on the floor of the House this afternoon, calling the focus on the likes of Eric Massa rather than the war in Afghanistan "despicable." The lame-duck Rhode Island Democrat was speaking—and eventually shouting—in favor of a Dennis Kucinich-sponsored resolution requiring President... More »

Pilot Shot in Head Still Lands With Afghan Injured

Hangs onto controls with blood in his eyes

(Newser) - A British pilot shot in the head managed to land his aging helicopter full of Afghanistan war wounded in a safe zone. Lt. Ian Fortune, 28, has ferrying wounded on a Chinook chopper last month when it suddenly "shuddered," said reporter Mike Brewer, who was on board doing... More »

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