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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: US troops

US troops stories: 122 news summaries

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 Afghan 
 Calculus: 
 40K Troops 
 Equals $40B 

High long-term costs a big factor in debate

Nov 14, 09 4:04 PM CST
(Newser) - When President Obama rejected advisers' recommendations on Afghan troops and insisted they be retooled with exit strategies, he had the war's long-term financial costs in mind, an insider tells the New York Times . While military strategy gets the headlines, the financial constraints also are weighing heavily. Some specfics:
  • Gen.
... More »

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Afghanistan • US military • US troops • war cost • Afghanistan war • President Obama • Stanley McChrystal

Afghan rethink

 Top Obama Advisers 
 Push 30K Troop Increase 

President, war council, weigh Afghan troop options today

Nov 11, 09 7:45 AM CST
(Newser) - As President Obama heads into a meeting with his national security team today, one of the four options on the table for increasing troop levels in Afghanistan has emerged as a favorite of his top advisers. Hillary Clinton, Mike Mullen, and Robert Gates all favor a plan to send about... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Robert Gates • Adm. Mike Mullen • US troops • Afghanistan war • President Obama

Iraq Passes Election Law, Clears Way for US Pullout

Vote set for Jan. 21, US will begin withdrawal 60 days later

Nov 9, 09 6:33 AM CST
(AP) - Iraq's parliament passed a long-delayed law yesterday paving the way for the planned January election to go forward, sidestepping a crisis that could have delayed the US troop withdrawal. The head of Iraq's electoral commission quickly proposed Jan. 21 for the election, five days after the earlier scheduled date. The... More »

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Iraq • US troops • Kirkuk • Iraqi elections

AFGHAN STRATEGY REVIEW

 Obama Eyes 30K+ Troop Surge 

Said to be close to decision as Asia trip looms

Nov 8, 09 9:18 AM CST
(Newser) - President Obama is zeroing in on an Afghanistan strategy that likely includes sending in some 30,000 troops, reports Reuters —short of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's requested 40,000, but far greater than war-weary Democrats may support. An additional 4,000 trainers are likely to be sent, McClatchy reports, with... More »

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Afghanistan • troop surge • Hamid Karzai • US troops • Afghanistan war • President Obama • Stanley McChrystal

 Afghans Cool to 
 US Troop Increase 

Doubting Taliban can be defeated, they want foreigners out

Nov 7, 09 7:34 AM CST
(Newser) - Even as the Obama adminstration agonizes over deploying more troops to Afghanistan, the Afghan public is growing increasingly negative about the US presence in their country. Doubting that the Taliban can be defeated, most agree that the government should negotiate with insurgents, the New York Times reports, and they see... More »

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Afghanistan • US troops

 Troop Injuries Hit New 
 High in Afghanistan 



Taliban roadside bombs highly effective against US

Oct 31, 09 7:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Injuries to US troops in Afghanistan have risen alarmingly in the last 3 months, as a Taliban offensive deploys deadlier roadside bombs aimed at American and other foreign forces. The rate of injury has surpassed that in Iraq during the heaviest fighting of the surge 2 years ago, the Washington... More »

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Afghanistan • Robert Gates • US troops • brain injuries

Oct. Deadliest Afghan Month as 8 US Troops Die

'Complex' bombings in south also take 1 Afghan life

Oct 27, 09 10:05 AM CDT
(AP) - Eight American troops have been killed today in multiple bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, making October the deadliest month for American troops there since the war began in 2001. The 8 deaths occurred in "multiple, complex" bomb attacks in the south, according to the US military. More »

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Taliban • US military • US troops • bombing • Afghanistan war • war dead • military offensive

NEW REPORT

 Guns Failed 
 US Troops in 
 Afghan Firefight 

M-4, built for extreme conditions, jammed repeatedly in heavy fire

Oct 11, 09 11:59 AM CDT
(AP) - As militants surrounded the remote Afghanistan base of Wanat on July 13, 2008, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M-4 carbine quit firing. The machine gun he grabbed in desperation didn't work, either. When the battle ended, nine US soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the... More »

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US troops • weapons • automatic weapons • Afghanistan war • Wanat

 Troops Despair, Question 
 Afghan Mission: Chaplains 

'I'm not exactly sure why we're' in Afghanistan, says one

Oct 8, 09 8:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Morale is not good at the Forward Operating Base in Wardak province. Soldiers there are starting to lose hope, base chaplains tell the Times. “They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern,” said one, while another described a “sense of... More »

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Afghanistan • US troops • Afghanistan war • troop deaths • morale

(Newser) - President Obama squeezed in a quick, unannounced meeting this morning with Gen. Stanley McChrystal during his trip to Copenhagen. The two met for about a half-hour aboard Air Force One, where McChrystal presumably made his case in person for more troops in Afghanistan. The general flew in from London, where... More »

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Afghanistan • US troops • Afghanistan war • President Obama • Stanley McChrystal

 2 US Soldiers 
 Killed in Philippines 

Land mine triggers first US casualties in the nation since 2002

Sep 29, 09 3:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two American soldiers and a Filipino marine were killed when their vehicle rolled over a land mine in the southern Philippines today. The men were fetching supplies for a school when their vehicle was hit, officials say.  The American soldiers, part of a 300-strong force helping the Filipino army... More »

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War on Terror • US military • US troops • land mines • al-Qaeda

OPINION

 Americans Fed Up 
 With Afghan War 


Sep 26, 09 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration is busy figuring out how to fine-tune its Afghan strategy while most Americans by and large just want us out of there. "A clash is coming," warns Bob Herbert. Most people are tired of the war, worried about the recession, and in no mood for... More »

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Afghanistan • US military • US troops • Afghanistan war • Afghanistan exit strategy • Stanley McChrystal

(Newser) - The drumbeat for more US troops in Afghanistan goes on: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told senators today that a "properly resourced counter-insurgency probably means more forces." Adm. Mike Mullen said he hasn't yet received a formal request from Gen. Stanley McChrystal but expects one... More »

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Afghanistan • Joint Chiefs of Staff • Adm. Mike Mullen • US troops • Afghanistan war • Stanley McChrystal

TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

 Newt: Obama 
 School Speech 
 'Good for America' 

Dean: green jobs czar 'brought down'; CDC chief warns of swine flu challenges

Sep 6, 09 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Who says bipartisanship in Washington is dead? Today, top Republicans sided with President Obama on both his planned speech to schoolchildren and his strategy in Afghanistan, Politico reports. On Fox News Sunday, Newt Gingrich called Obama’s Tuesday speech “good for America.” On Afghanistan, Tim Pawlenty rejected calls... More »

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Afghanistan • Barack Obama • Newt Gingrich • Howard Dean • US troops • Tim Pawlenty • George Will • Arne Duncan • Van Jones

 US to Beef Up 
 Afghanistan 
 Combat Force 

Up to 14K fighters swap places with noncombatant troops

Sep 2, 09 8:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Pentagon will add up to 14,000 combat troops to its Afghanistan force, replacing noncombatant support units with more "trigger-pullers" as casualties continue to climb. With support for the war waning, the Defense Department's "force optimization" plan will not increase the number of US troops, and... More »

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Afghanistan • Pentagon • US troops • Department of Defense • International Security Assistance Force • troop levels • Afghanistan war • defense contractors • Stanley McChrystal

(AP) - A bomb blast in Afghanistan killed an American service member today, making August the deadliest month of the 8-year war for US forces. The service member's vehicle struck a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, NATO forces said, bringing the number of troops killed in August to 45, one more than... More »

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Afghanistan • US military • US troops • bombing • casualties • Afghanistan war

(Newser) - A busy, bloody day in Afghanistan:
  • Five car bombs detonated simultaneously in Kandahar, killing at least 30 people and injuring more than 50, reports the AP.
  • That follows news of a blast in southern Afghanistan that killed four US troops, bringing to 41 the number of American deaths
... More »

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Afghanistan • Hamid Karzai • US troops • Kandahar • casualties • Afghanistan war • Abdullah Abdullah

Gates Makes
Surprise Visit to Iraq


Jul 28, 09 3:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has landed in Iraq for a surprise visit, the AP reports. He'll meet with troops stationed at a command post in southern Iraq who are largely serving as advisers. He's also expected to see Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and visit the restive Kurdish region.... More »

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Iraq • Robert Gates • Nouri al-Maliki • Kurds • US troops • troop withdrawal • Iraq exit strategy

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates is temporarily boosting the Army's ranks with 22,000 new soldiers, reports the Army Times. The increase, which follows a permanent increase of 65,000, will reduce the strain on the forces over the next three years, according to Gates. The hike "will be used... More »

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Pentagon • Robert Gates • US military • US troops • US Army • troop levels

see taliban video

Pentagon IDs Soldier Caught by Taliban

He may have been visiting a woman when caught: officials

Jul 19, 09 6:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pentagon officials have confirmed that Bowe Bergdahl, 23, is the captured US soldier seen this weekend in a Taliban video, ABC News reports. Bergdahl says in the video that he was caught after falling behind in a foot patrol, but Defense Department officials say he may have left his Paktika... More »

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Taliban • US troops • video • Afghanistan war

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