Afghanistan – News Stories About Afghanistan - Page 107

Euro Envoys Booted by Afghanis for Taliban Talks

Dec 26, 2007 7:43 AM CST

Euro Envoys Booted by Afghanis for Taliban Talks

Diplomatic row over alleged Taliban meeting

(Newser) - European officials were scrambling today to block Afghanistan's ordered expulsion of two high-ranking foreign officials because of an alleged link to Taliban insurgents, the BBC reports. Afghan authorities claim that the men, one an Irish envoy from the EU and the other a British UN official, met with Taliban members...

Sarko Stalwart Against Taliban

Dec 22, 2007 5:31 PM CST

Sarko Stalwart Against Taliban

French president says he'll commit more troops to Afghan conflict

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy said today the international community must prevent Afghanistan from falling back under extremist rule, the BBC reports. The French president made a quick visit to Kabul to reaffirm his support for the US-led operation, saying France would commit more troops in the near future. France currently has about...

Army Lapses Led to Suicide
of Mentally Ill Soldier

Dec 20, 2007 12:50 PM CST

Army Lapses Led to Suicide of Mentally Ill Soldier

Rate at all-time high in Iraq, Afghanistan

(Newser) - Depressed and constantly reprimanded by his superiors, Pfc. Jason Scheuerman shot himself in his Iraq barracks in 2005—raising serious questions about how the military handles mental illness, the AP reports. Scheuerman's was one of a record 152 Army suicides in Afghanistan and Iraq, but his parents had to fight...

Bush Wins War Budget Battle

Dec 19, 2007 3:39 AM CST

Bush Wins War Budget Battle

Senate approves $70 billion in war funds

(Newser) - The White House last night won a major victory in the Senate—securing $70 billion in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, free of the restrictions linked to troop withdrawals Democrats had insisted on for weeks. In a budget deal that ended months of wrangling, the Senate passed...

Military: Shift Troops to Afghan Front

Dec 17, 2007 5:24 AM CST

Military: Shift Troops to Afghan Front

As Iraq improves, Afghanistan unravels

(Newser) - The US military is calling for an accelerated withdrawal from Iraq and a shift of troops and equipment to Afghanistan, reports the Washington Post. The post-surge reduction of violence in Iraq has coincided with resurgent Taliban activity in Afghanistan; both NATO and US commanders there say they need several additional...

Troubled Afghan Mission Under Review

Dec 16, 2007 7:37 AM CST

Troubled Afghan Mission Under Review

Prospect of failure in 'forgotten war' prompts probes, if not surge

(Newser) - With insurgent violence in Afghanistan soaring to the highest level since 2001, the Bush administration and NATO have begun three sweeping reviews of a mission that was considered a success, but now seems increasingly threatened. Lack of coordination in fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda, rising opium production, and the weakness...

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Go!

Dec 14, 2007 5:08 AM CST

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Go!

Military's 'Will and Grace' generation more tolerant of gays

(Newser) - The US military, whose resources are stretched overseas, has become far more tolerant of gays. One Army sergeant turned over a video of a passionate kiss with his boyfriend to superior officers and was merely told to go back to work, according to a "60 Minutes" investigation to be...

US Pleads for Help in Afghanistan

Dec 14, 2007 4:43 AM CST

US Pleads for Help in Afghanistan

Gates zings Germany for sticking to peaceful zones

(Newser) - US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates yesterday pleaded with NATO allies to play a bigger combat role in Afghanistan. "I would like for all of the allies to be involved in a comprehensive strategy," Gates said at a NATO meeting in Edinburgh. Violence in Afghanistan has increased sharply...

Army Deploys Anthropologists on Front Lines

Dec 13, 2007 11:53 AM CST

Army Deploys Anthropologists on Front Lines

Uncle Sam enlists social scientists; colleagues object

(Newser) - The US military has been employing anthropologists in Iraq and Afghanistan to help troops work more effectively with locals. The results have been so promising they've just launched a $40 million program to embed social scientists with all 26 combat brigades. But the response back home has been ugly, with...

UK Wants to Talk to Taliban

Dec 12, 2007 8:13 AM CST

UK Wants to Talk to Taliban

Brown to announce major revision of Afghan strategy, rankling Washington

(Newser) - Just back from Kabul, Gordon Brown is poised to announce a major strategic revision in Afghanistan that will involve dialogue with the Taliban. Senior British officials believe that treating the loose-knit organization as a unified terrorist actor is counterproductive, the Independent reports, and they want to move from fighting militants...

NATO & Afghan Forces
Rout Taliban

Dec 11, 2007 2:35 AM CST

NATO & Afghan Forces Rout Taliban

Taliban leaves stronghold as UK Prime Minister arrives

(Newser) - Taliban troops retreated from their last major stronghold in the southern town of Musa Qala in Afghanistan yesterday, ceding control to NATO and Afghan troops, the New York Times reports. After heavy bombardment and a troop attack, the Taliban was overcome by "heavy casualties," said a local police...

Bush Losing Military Families

Dec 7, 2007 6:15 AM CST

Bush Losing Military Families

60% no longer support Bush or Iraq war

(Newser) - Military families, traditionally staunch supporters of presidents in time of war, are abandoning President Bush and wavering in their endorsement of the conflict in Iraq, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. Nearly 60% of military families disapprove of the president's job performance and say the war is not...

Gates Nixes Marine Shift to
Afghanistan

Dec 6, 2007 5:48 AM CST

Gates Nixes Marine Shift to Afghanistan

Defense secretary says troops needed in still-volatile Iraq

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has rejected a proposal to shift Marine Corps soldiers from Iraq to Afghanistan, saying the situation is still too volatile in Iraq, reports the New York Times. The top general of the Marines met with Gates in Washington last week and presented a formal proposal to...

Kite Runner Kids Flee Country

Dec 4, 2007 2:26 PM CST

Kite Runner Kids Flee Country

Filmmakers feared reprisals against Afghan actors in controversial scene

(Newser) - Four child stars of the upcoming movie The Kite Runner have been whisked out of their native Afghanistan to protect them from possible backlash over a rape scene in the movie, the Guardian reports. Paramount Pictures helped relocate the boys to the United Arab Emirates after months of worry and...

Gates Surveys US War
in Afghanistan

Dec 3, 2007 8:26 PM CST

Gates Surveys US War in Afghanistan

'Not worried about a back slide' despite rise in attacks, he says

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Afghanistan today to size up areas where attacks have recently doubled and suicide bombings spiked 30%, Reuters reports. He was upbeat despite a Pentagon admission that al-Qaeda is helping Taliban forces to recover. "I'm not worried about a back slide as much as...

40 Taliban Die in Afghan Clashes

Dec 2, 2007 8:00 AM CST

40 Taliban Die in Afghan Clashes

Three days of battle latest sign of Taliban surge

(Newser) - Some 40 Taliban insurgents were killed in three days of clashes with Afghani and US-led foreign forces in the mountainous Shah Wali Kot district in southern Kandahar province, reports AP. Forces launched pitched battles against various pockets of Taliban strongholds in the area and called in airstrikes.

Australia
To Pull Troops From Iraq

Dec 1, 2007 9:56 AM CST

Australia To Pull Troops From Iraq

New leader says combat forces will be home by mid-2008

(Newser) - Australia’s new leader says the nation's combat troops will be out of Iraq by mid-2008, the Guardian reports. Kevin Rudd will make good on a campaign promise to pull out troops, a move that marks a sharp shift from the polices of his predecessor, John Howard, a key Bush...

Confident Marines Cut 'Bombproof' Truck Orders

Nov 30, 2007 7:09 AM CST

Confident Marines Cut 'Bombproof' Truck Orders

Cite fewer attacks, changing mission

(Newser) - The Marines are cutting orders of a nearly "bombproof" Hummer replacement from 3,700 to 2,225, reflecting a more peaceful Iraq and the success of the vehicle, reports the Christian Science Monitor. “Combine the reduction in attacks with the fact that we're not losing as many vehicles...

Osama Tape Cautions Europeans

Nov 29, 2007 1:34 PM CST

Osama Tape Cautions Europeans

Al-Qaeda leader urges withdrawal from Afghanistan

(Newser) - A new audio tape has Osama Bin Laden calling for European nations to sever military ties with US forces in Afghanistan. Cable network Al Jazeera today broadcast portions of the tape, in which a voice resembling Bin Laden's denies allegations that the Taliban, then ruling Afghanistan, knew of the Sept....

22 Afghan Road Workers Killed in US Air Strike

Nov 28, 2007 5:15 AM CST

22 Afghan Road Workers Killed in US Air Strike

Action relied on faulty intelligence, say officials

(Newser) - A coalition air strike based on faulty intelligence killed at least 22 Afghan road workers today, said Afghan officials. The engineers and laborers were building a road for US forces in the mountains of Nuristan in the east. They were asleep in two tents when the bombardment killed all of...