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NEWS ABOUT: Afghanistan war

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9 Children Killed in US Attack: Karzai

Officials say they were gathering firewood on a mountainside

(Newser) - A US artillery attack killed nine children and injured a tenth yesterday in Kunar province, Afghan officials declared today. The kids, ages 8 to 14, were reportedly out gathering firewood when rocket fire hit a nearby outpost. The base’s defenders say they responded with “indirect and aerial fire,... More »

'Tens of Billions' Wasted on War Contractors: Report

'Criminal behavior and blatant corruption' a bad combo with 'ill-conceived projects'

(Newser) - The US has misspent “tens of billions of dollars” on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan—at minimum—according to a new report from a bipartisan commission set up to scrutinize the issue. The report bemoaned problems like “ill-conceived projects,” “poor planning and oversight by the US... More »

Gates to Army: No More Wars Like Iraq

US must dial down 'controversial large-scale military intervention'

(Newser) - Will the US ever undertake another war like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan? Not if Defense Secretary Robert Gates has his way. “In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East... More »

US Withdraws from Once-Key Afghan Valley

Some troops see wasted effort in Pech Valley

(Newser) - The US is withdrawing from the Pech Valley, the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan that for years was central to its strategy—and the site of much bloodshed. The move is a controversial one, notes the New York Times : 103 US troops were killed there, and many more wounded, leading... More »

Pentagon Investigates Psy-Ops Allegations

Two senators say it didn't work on them

(Newser) - The Pentagon has begun investigating claims that one of its generals used psychological trickery to try to convince US lawmakers to support the Afghan war effort. (Read the earlier summary of the Rolling Stone expose here .) "The facts will take them where they lead," said a Pentagon... More »

Army Ordered Psych Team to Manipulate Senators

Sought to gain war support through propaganda techniques: Rolling Stone

(Newser) - In an illegal effort to build support for the war, a top US general in Afghanistan ordered troops trained in "psychological operations" to manipulate visiting lawmakers, reports Michael Hastings for Rolling Stone . Over a four-month period last year, Gen. William Caldwell reportedly pushed the psy-ops team to focus their... More »

Petraeus Suggests Afghans Burned Own Children

Participants at a recent meeting say comments offended Karzai

(Newser) - US officials were already skeptical of claims that a military operation last week killed 65 Afghan civilians , but now Gen. David Petraeus has apparently taken things a step further: During a Sunday meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Petraeus reportedly suggested Afghans burned their own children in an effort to... More »

Taliban's Middle Managers 'Tired of Fighting'

New US raid strategy may be taking its toll

(Newser) - Many mid-level Taliban commanders are increasingly unhappy at the prospect of returning to battlefield in Afghanistan, putting them at odds with the top-level commanders in Pakistan, one commander tells the New York Times. “I have talked to some commanders, and they are reluctant to fight,” he says. “... More »

US Operation Killed 65 Civilians: Afghan Officials

NATO, US officials cast doubt on claim

(Newser) - A US military operation in the desolate, mountainous lands of northeastern Afghanistan last week killed 65 civilians, among them 22 women and 30 children, Afghan officials tell the Washington Post . US officials have launched an emergency probe into the situation, seeking to minimize damage to American-Afghan relations—while some cast... More »

Afghan War Killed 2 Kids a Day in 2010

Most of the deaths are blamed on insurgents

(Newser) - Nearly 740 kids—an average of about two a day—were killed in the Afghanistan war last year, says a watchdog group. About two-thirds of those deaths were blamed on insurgents—or "armed opposition groups" in the language of the report—with 17% blamed on US and NATO forces.... More »

Solar Panels Power Marines in Afghanistan

Alternative energy test wins over skeptics

(Newser) - US Marines in Afghanistan say flexible solar panels aren't just helping them cut back on fuel consumption, they're making military personnel safer. A unit testing the Solar Portable Alternative Communications Energy System—SPACES—says it reduced generators' diesel consumption from 20 gallons a day to 2.5 gallons a day,... More »

Pedophilia Accepted in South Afghanistan: Study

'Boy play' common across parts of country

(Newser) - Pedophilia is a widely-accepted practice in southern Afghanistan, where "boys are apprenticed to older men for their sexual initiation," US social scientists find. British officers requested the study amid soldiers’ complaints about unwanted advances from locals, including Afghan soldiers. Young Western troops "were beginning to feel uncomfortable... More »

Hey, Guys, Give Women a Chance to Fix Afghanistan

Op-ed: With Karzai in charge, don't hold your breath

(Newser) - When Hamid Karzai named a council to negotiate with the Taliban, it had 60 members, and not one of them was female. No big surprise given Karzai's "ultraconservative, misogynist" ways, writes aid worker Ann Jones in the Los Angeles Times . He's been a disaster for women's rights in general,... More »

Biden Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

VP to review progress in security handover

(Newser) - The vice president has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. Joe Biden is in the country to review progress as allied forces turn security over to Afghan hands, the AP reports. He’s set to meet with President Karzai and US commander David Petraeus, the White House says; he’ll... More »

US Sends 1,400 More Marines to Afghanistan

Aim to kick Taliban while they're down

(Newser) - In a surprise move, the Pentagon has decided to send another 1,400 Marines to Afghanistan, putting a cherry on top of the US troop surge before July’s scheduled troop withdrawals. The battalions should be in place by mid-January, and will be concentrated around Kandahar, officials tell the Wall ... More »

When It Comes to War, Obama and Bush Think Alike

But 44 needs to make his case to America

(Newser) - When it comes to war, Presidents Bush and Obama really aren’t so different, writes Stephen Carter in Newsweek . While Obama was perceived as the peace candidate, “the office of the presidency, once assumed, transforms the outlook of its holder.” To wit: Obama is essentially recycling Bush's Iraq... More »

Trail of Warning Signs Led to Soldier's Suicide

Questions raised about rising suicide rates in the US military

(Newser) - Staff Sgt. David Senft died not in the heat of battle, but alone and despondent in Afghanistan with a single gunshot to the head, an unsent text message typed into his phone that said, "I don't know what to say, I'm sorry." The US Army deployed Senft to... More »

Air Force's New Drone 'Can See Everything'

Named after the Greek myth, but this Gorgon has 9 eyes

(Newser) - It's called Gorgon Stare, after the beast of Greek myth, but this Gorgon is a new Air Force surveillance system set to be deployed on drones in Afghanistan. With nine cameras that can send up to 65 different images to different users at once, Gorgon Stare takes cues from ESPN... More »

For Returning Troops, an Even Worse Job Reality

They're grappling with 10% employment; non-vets at 9.1%

(Newser) - The job market is obviously bleak—but it's even worse when it comes to troops returning from war. The Washington Post takes a look at the 2 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, who spent as much as 10 years, on and off, in desolate war zones, racking... More »

Karzai Waxed Poetic About 'Golden Age' of Bush

US ambassador told Afghan president to worry about the present

(Newser) - The White House doesn't bring Hamid Karzai flowers anymore, and the Afghan president is caught in a diplomatic cable waxing poetically over "the golden age" of US-Afghan relations under George W Bush. The cable was sent by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry last year after a meeting with Karzai, reports the... More »

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