NEWS ABOUT: Afghanistan war

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More About: Afghanistan • Taliban • President Obama • NATO • US military • Hamid Karzai • Pakistan • Afghanistan exit strategy • Mullah Mansour • Afghanistan army • troop withdrawal • NATO troops • Obama administration • Richard Holbrooke • US troops • September 11 • al-Qaeda • peace talks • Afghan border • Anders Fogh Rasmussen • Britain • Afghans • cabdrivers • National Intelligence Estimate • Maureen Dowd

Pentagon Presses for Special-Ops Raids in Pakistan

But some in administration fear political fallout will be too great

(Newser) - Frustrated US military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for a series of Special Ops ground raids in Pakistan, sources tell the New York Times , in essence opening up a new front in the war. The raids would likely need approval from President Obama himself, and the wary administration fears political... More »

Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout

VP claimed departure 'come hell or high water'

(Newser) - Joe Biden was in the spotlight this weekend for saying the US would follow its Iraq model and be “totally” out of Afghanistan by 2014, “come hell or high water.” Well, that’s just wrong, writes Justin Elliott in Salon . For one thing, withdrawal from Iraq hasn’... More »

Troops on Course to Leave Afghanistan in July: Report

White House cites 'fragile' gains in region

(Newser) - The US is “setting conditions” to begin an Afghanistan troop withdrawal in July as planned, says a White House report. While President Obama’s strategy in the region is “showing progress,” the document says, “the challenge remains to make our gains durable and sustainable,” the... More »

Afghan Intelligence Report: We're Screwed

Reports contradict military's more upbeat view

(Newser) - The US is faring poorly in the Afghan war, with large areas of the country on the verge of falling to the Taliban, according to the latest National Intelligence Estimates on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The classified reports, which represent the collective wisdom of a dozen intelligence agencies, also say that... More »

White House: Holbrooke's 'Last Words' Made in Jest

He was joshing with the medical staff, says State Department

(Newser) - The White House is taking issue with today's heavy coverage of the last words attributed to Richard Holbrooke: "Stop this war in Afghanistan." Far from being a melodramatic plea, it was actually part of a lighthearted back-and-forth with the medical staff, says the State Department's PJ Crowley. It... More »

Holbrooke's Last Words: End Afghanistan War

Veteran diplomat made plea for peace on his way to surgery

(Newser) - Richard Holbrooke's dying wish was for an end to the war in Afghanistan, family members say. As he was heading into surgery in a Washington hospital, the late American special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan told his Pakistani surgeon, "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan," relatives... More »

27% of Afghans Say Insurgent Attacks Are Justified

Last year, only 8% thought so

(Newser) - A new poll shows a striking increase in the number of Afghans who support insurgent attacks against American troops: 27%, compared to just 8% last year, called such attacks justified. The increase parallels an increase in Afghan civilian casualties—fatalities and injuries were up 31% in the first half of... More »

Obama to Troops: You're Winning

President thanks service members during surprise Afghanistan trip

(Newser) - President Obama capped his surprise visit to Afghanistan by delivering words of encouragement to US troops at the Bagram base north of Kabul, Bloomberg reports. “You are protecting your country, you’re achieving your objectives, you will succeed in your mission,” Obama said. “We said we were... More »

Obama Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan

He'll be thanking US troops

(AP) - President Obama slipped unannounced into Afghanistan today, one year after widening an ever deadlier war and just days before a pivotal review about the 9-year-plus conflict. Under intense security, Obama landed in darkness after a clandestine departure from the White House yesterday. He was to personally thank US troops for... More »

Afghan Police Officer Kills 6 US Soldiers

Taliban agent opens fire during training exercise

(Newser) - Six US troops were killed today in a deadly betrayal by an Afghan ally, according to NATO officials. The six were participating in a training exercise with members of the Afghan border police when a border police officer opened fire. The shooter was killed in the subsequent gunfight, but his... More »

Taliban Snickers at US Over Impostor's Ruse

It also shows reports of peace talks were false, says commander

(Newser) - News that an impostor posing as a high-ranking Taliban official fooled US, UK, and Afghan officials—and made a tidy profit to boot—is going over well among the real Taliban. One commander tells the Daily Beast : “Imagine if a shopkeeper from Quetta can make a fool of them... More »

UK Cabbie Moonlights as ... Taliban Fighter

British citizens with Afghan roots head over for months at a time

(Newser) - Talk about deflating the mystique of the Taliban: "I work as a minicab driver," one fighter in northern Afghanistan tells the Guardian . He spends most of the year in East London but travels to Afghanistan for a few months to join the fight—and he's apparently not alone.... More »

US Now in Afghanistan as Long as Soviets

9 years, 50 days: Same length, different fight, analysts say

(Newser) - As of today, the US military has been fighting in Afghanistan for 9 years and 50 days—exactly as long as the Soviets did during their doomed campaign to turn the country into a socialist state. Analysts say that while the Soviet invasion and the NATO campaign have very different... More »

Afghanistan Is 'Faking Us Out'

We're stuck in a region that's taking us for a ride, writes Maureen Dowd

(Newser) - Considering the fact that the billions we've spent on intelligence hasn't enabled us to distinguish between an impostor and an actual Taliban leader, it’s no wonder the war in Afghanistan is a mess. “The tragedy has descended into farce,” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times... More »

Taliban Chief at Peace Talks Was Impostor

Fake leader paid handsomely for taking part in talks

(Newser) - A "Taliban leader" heavily involved in peace talks in Afghanistan was an impostor, according to US and Afghan officials. The man, who pretended to be high-ranking Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, was flown to several meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and was given a sizable sum of cash for... More »

NATO, US See Lengthy Stay in Afghanistan

Combat operations might end in 2004, followed by support mission

(Newser) - The NATO summit resulted in lots of talk about "transition goals" for Afghanistan, but the only thing for certain is that US and NATO troops aren't going anywhere anytime soon. The official proclamation promises that allied forces will push to end combat operations by the end of 2014—but... More »

Few Afghans Know Reason for War, NATO Troops

92% never heard of 9/11 attacks

(Newser) - Most Afghans living in the provinces with the heaviest fighting have never heard of the September 11 attacks and have absolutely no idea why NATO forces are in their country, Reuters reports. A think tank polled residents of the southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces and found that 92% of the... More »

Obama Plans to Stay in Afghanistan Past 2014

President brings new strategy to NATO summit

(Newser) - As the NATO summit in Lisbon begins today, President Obama has a new plan for Afghanistan—and it calls for the US and others to stick around beyond 2014, the Christian Science Monitor reports. NATO forces, the plan says, will turn over the country to Afghan forces by 2014, but... More »

Obama Honors a Hero: 'I Really Like This Guy'

Salvatore Giunta receives the Medal of Honor

(Newser) - The nation got a certified new hero today: staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who became the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. In presenting it today, President Obama paused to go off script. "I really like this guy," he said to laughter and... More »

US Plans 2014 End to Afghan Combat

Phased withdrawal echoes Iraq exit strategy

(Newser) - The Obama administration has worked up a plan to complete the US combat mission in Afghanistan by 2014, gradually shifting security into the hands of Afghan troops, insiders tell the New York Times . The piecemeal strategy, which echoes the phased Iraq withdrawal, will be presented at a NATO meeting in... More »

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