Afghanistan – News Stories About Afghanistan - Page 104

OPINION

Mar 12, 2008 9:11 AM CDT

Prince Harry Should Have Stayed

Christopher Hitchens asks what threat he posed others

(Newser) - When Matt Drudge revealed to the world Prince Harry was in Afghanistan, there he should have stayed, writes Christopher Hitchens for Slate. It's "piffle" to think that his royal highness was a "bullet magnet" in Helmand province, already one of the most dangerous places on Earth for any...

Canadian Convoy Bombed in Afghanistan

Mar 12, 2008 7:39 AM CDT

Canadian Convoy Bombed in Afghanistan

Attack precedes Canada's vote on unpopular operation

(Newser) - A suicide attack on a Canadian convoy in Afghanistan killed a civilian, injured at least one soldier, and set ablaze a nearby home less than half a mile from the Canadian base of operations in Kandahar. The Taliban took credit for the attack, which comes just as Canada is about...

'Wonder Woman' Wins Silver Star

Mar 10, 2008 5:08 AM CDT

'Wonder Woman' Wins Silver Star

Teen medic shielded wounded with her body

(Newser) - A Texas teenager has become the second woman since World War II to be awarded the Silver Star for bravery in combat. Texas medic Monica Lin Brown, 19, used her body to shield five wounded comrades from gunfire while she treated them after their convoy was caught by a roadside...

Aussie Mag Apologizes
to Harry

Mar 10, 2008 4:30 AM CDT

Aussie Mag Apologizes to Harry

Publishing Afghan story was 'irresponsible and insensitive,' say editors

(Newser) - An Australian women's magazine has apologized to Britain's Prince Harry for breaking a media embargo and being the first to reveal that he was serving with troops in Afghanistan. The young royal was immediately pulled from the combat zone after just 10 weeks because of fears he would become a...

Brits Probe Soldier Who Tried to Sell Harry Pics

Mar 9, 2008 10:07 AM CDT

Brits Probe Soldier Who Tried to Sell Harry Pics

Comrade defied media ban, says Guardian

(Newser) - The British military is investigating a soldier who defied military orders and tried to sell "extraordinary" pictures of Prince Harry’s secret Afghanistan deployment to the media, the Guardian reports. In the pictures, Harry witnesses the beheading of a live goat during Christmas celebrations and films the event on...

A Colonel's Toughest Duty: the Condolence Letter

Mar 8, 2008 4:43 PM CST

A Colonel's Toughest Duty: the Condolence Letter

US commanders continue 18th-century custom

(Newser) - American warfare has changed over hundreds of years, but one tradition that remains is a commander’s condolence letter to the family of a fallen soldier. The Wall Street Journal spends time with a lieutenant colonel in Iraq who writes his letters by hand whenever one of his men dies....

US Troops Lose Hearing
at Alarming Rates

Mar 8, 2008 7:53 AM CST

US Troops Lose Hearing at Alarming Rates

Aural damage from Iraq, Afghanistan wars reaching epidemic levels

(Newser) - US troops are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with epidemic rates of hearing damage, AP reports, with 128,000 disabled by permanent hearing loss or tinnitus, ringing in the ears. The nature of the current conflict is part of the problem, with roadside bombs and sudden ambushes giving troops...

Repeat Combat Tours Zap Troops' Mental Health

Mar 7, 2008 3:30 AM CST

Repeat Combat Tours Zap Troops' Mental Health

Survey finds steep rise in mental problems among soldiers on third, fourth tours

(Newser) - Cutting the time soldiers have between tours of duty helped the Pentagon boost troop numbers in Iraq—but has taken a heavy toll on soldiers' mental health, Reuters reports. An Army survey found a steep rise in mental health problems among soldiers returning for their third or fourth combat tour,...

More US Troops Outfitting Themselves for Combat

Mar 6, 2008 1:39 PM CST

More US Troops Outfitting Themselves for Combat

With slow supply chain—and style—among concerns, market grows to $150M annually

(Newser) - US troops are increasingly augmenting their military-issue gear with higher-end commercial products to gain an extra edge—and look sharp, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The military has encouraged the trend, perhaps in response to the equipment shortages that have dogged the Iraq and Afghanistan war efforts, loosening procurement rules...

Afghan Intel Chief Says Only 5% of Territory Is Lawless

Mar 3, 2008 11:22 AM CST

Afghan Intel Chief Says Only 5% of Territory Is Lawless

Rejects US' more pessimistic 70% figure

(Newser) - Afghanistan controls all but 5% of its territory, insisted its intelligence chief today—contradicting a far more pessimistic US assessment that last week said the Afghan government controls just 30% of its territory, the Taliban holds 10%, and tribal leaders are in charge of the rest. Western governments have chimed...

We Were Hunting Harry: Taliban

Mar 3, 2008 5:00 AM CST

We Were Hunting Harry: Taliban

Militants after 'important chicken'

(Newser) - Taliban militants knew Britain's Prince Harry was deployed with his infantry unit in Afghanistan and were plotting to kidnap or kill him, one of their leaders tells Newsweek. Deputy Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Karim claims he learned of the presence of "an important chicken" as long ago as December,...

Prince Harry: I'm No Hero

Mar 2, 2008 8:14 AM CST

Prince Harry: I'm No Hero

Praises fellow soldiers, wants to return 'very, very soon'

(Newser) - In a revealing interview with the British press, Prince Harry spoke yesterday of his stint in Afghanistan as one of the happiest times of his life, and said he "generally" doesn't "like England that much." The third-in-line to the British throne insisted he's not a hero, and...

Pakistan Charges 5 in Bhutto Murder

Mar 1, 2008 6:32 PM CST

Pakistan Charges 5 in Bhutto Murder

Top Taliban leader and others accused of plotting assassination

(Newser) - Police in Pakistan have filed charges against five men, including the country’s top Taliban commander, accusing them of planning the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the AP reports. President Pervez Musharaff had named the Taliban leader (and suspected al-Qaeda operative), Baitullah Mehsud, days after the attack, but today’s...

Harry's Dad 'Enormously Proud'

Mar 1, 2008 12:20 PM CST

Harry's Dad 'Enormously Proud'

But Prince Charles also 'frustrated' over early return

(Newser) - Prince Charles welcomed Harry home from Afghanistan today, telling the media he was “enormously proud” of his son. “It’s obviously a great relief to see him home in one piece,” he said, adding that he now understood what service families endure. But he also was frustrated...

Prince Harry Arrives Home After Deployment

UPDATED

Mar 1, 2008 7:31 AM CST

Prince Harry Arrives Home After Deployment

Young royal flourished under adverse conditions of battle

(Newser) - Prince Harry is back home after an abrupt end to his hitherto unreported Afghanistan deployment, CNN reports. The frustrated royal had earlier rued his return. "I don't want to sit around in Windsor," Harry, third in line to the throne, had told the Telegraph. "But I generally...

Afghanistan Is Out of Control: Intel Chief

Feb 29, 2008 2:05 PM CST

Afghanistan Is Out of Control: Intel Chief

Karzai controls just 30% of country, Taliban 10%, tribal leaders the rest

(Newser) - The 6-year NATO campaign in Afghanistan is failing, the US intelligence chief told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Mike McConnell said Harmid Karzai’s US-backed government controls only about 30% of the country, with the Taliban holding another 10%, and the rest under tribal rule. Security, meanwhile, is...

Media Leak Ends Harry's Afghan Mission

Feb 29, 2008 5:38 AM CST

Media Leak Ends Harry's Afghan Mission

Army planning emergency exit for soldier prince

(Newser) - Britain's defense ministry is setting up emergency plans to withdraw Prince Harry from his battalion in Afghanistan after yesterday's news leak that he had been stationed there. He has completed 10 weeks of what was supposed to be a four-month tour of duty in Helmand Province, reports the Times of...

Secret No More: Prince Harry's
in Afghanistan

Feb 28, 2008 1:47 PM CST

Secret No More: Prince Harry's in Afghanistan

UK press promised silence, but foreign media leaked story

(Newser) - Prince Harry is indeed in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, the BBC reports. The news was leaked by foreign media and confirmed by the UK government despite a press agreement to stay mum on Harry’s military service. The prince, nicknamed “bullet magnet,” said he appreciates frontline duty: “...

Army to Shorten Combat Tours

Feb 27, 2008 7:40 AM CST

Army to Shorten Combat Tours

Three years between deployments

(Newser) - The Pentagon aims to trim tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan from 15 months to a year with an eventual three years between deployments, the Army's top general told the Senate Committee on Armed Services yesterday. The change will be made after the military reduces troop levels this summer,...

Pentagon, Army Captain Differ on Obama Tale

Feb 23, 2008 9:03 AM CST

Pentagon, Army Captain Differ on Obama Tale

Army doubts, captain confirms weapons, troop shortages

(Newser) - Pentagon officials moved quickly yesterday to rebut Barack Obama's tale of an Army captain whose platoon, deployed in Afghanistan, was stripped of men and so lacking in equipment that they resorted to using captured Taliban weapons. "I find that account pretty hard to imagine," an Army spokesman said...