Afghanistan

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Army Suicides Climb; Rate Highest in 26 Years

99 active-duty soldiers took their own lives in 2006

(Newser) - American soldiers are killing themselves at the highest rate since the Persian Gulf War, the AP reports. Statistics out today show 99 active-duty soldiers committed suicide in 2006, both the highest single number and the highest rate per deployed since 1991. The problem was worst in Iraq, the most common...

US to Label Iran's Elite Force Terrorists

Move allows action to block Revolutionary Guard's assets

(Newser) - Iran's elite military branch, the Revolutionary Guard, will be officially designated a terrorist organization by the US, the Washington Post reports. The declaration will allow Washington to block assets and disrupt the operations of businesses linked to the unit worldwide. The 125,000-member Guard, a  powerful political force, is increasingly...

Hollywood Won’t Wait for Troops to Come Home

Slate of controversial war films on the way

(Newser) - About a dozen films exploring America's widely debated role in Iraq and Afghanistan are set for release or in production, marking a break with Hollywood's unwritten rules for depicting an ongoing war. Most films made during WW2 were outright propaganda. And films critical of the Vietnam conflict weren't released until...

In Pakistan, a Birthday Marred by Violence

Nation turns 60 amid bomb attacks and political upheaval

(Newser) - Pakistan celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence today at a moment plagued by violence and shadowed by political uncertainty, the Independent writes. A roadside bomb killed four civilians yesterday near the border with Afghanistan, where the Taliban is allegedly regrouping. Attacks have multiplied since July from tribal areas to...

Taliban Frees 2 South Korean Hostages

Women in Red Cross custody after roadside hand-over

(Newser) - The Taliban freed two of the South Korean hostages abducted in Afghanistan today, releasing them to the Red Cross in Ghazni province, the Telegraph reports. A BBC reporter saw the two women, who were reported to be in "fair" health and were released after talks with South Korean negotiators....

Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?
Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?
Aug 12, 2007 4:24 PM CDT

Why Are We Losing Afghanistan?

Miscalculated and under-emphasized the country time and again

(Newser) - Critical misjudgments and a consistent refusal to commit resources undermined what appeared to be a US triumph in routing the Taliban in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports in a detailed analysis of how the "good war" seems to have gone bad. From Donald Rumsfeld’s early rebuff of...

Musharraf Talks at Peace Jirga
Musharraf Talks at Peace Jirga
Aug 12, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

Musharraf Talks at Peace Jirga

General meets with Afghan and Pakistani leaders to discuss extremism

(Newser) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf  today pledged to fight the "particularly dark form" of extremism that afflicts his country and Afghanistan, speaking to 600 tribal leaders from the two countries at the close of a peace jirga in Kabul, the AP reports. He said the rise of militancy is preventing...

'War Czar' Concerned Over Troop Stress, Mulls Draft

Sees progress made on Iraq security front

(Newser) - Washington’s “War Czar” admits that it makes sense to a consider a military draft to relieve soldiers of repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute tells NPR that the pressure point will come in spring, when Bush will have to juggle the nation's military needs...

Taliban to Free 2 Hostages
Taliban to Free
2 Hostages
Aug 11, 2007 1:41 PM CDT

Taliban to Free 2 Hostages

Militant group will release sick women from captivity, report says

(Newser) - The Taliban will release two South Korean hostages who have become sick after nearly a month of captivity in Afghanistan. The announcement came during talks between the militant group and South Korean emissaries, but hasn't been confirmed by international groups monitoring the situation.

South Korea Begins Taliban Hostage Talks

Hostages said to be safe while negotiations continue

(Newser) - A South Korean team began face-to-face negotiations with the Taliban today, hoping to secure the lives of 21 Korean aid workers abducted last month. The meeting is taking place in an Afghan government-controlled zone where the Taliban has been guaranteed temporary safe passage. Seoul has already cautioned that it doesn't...

Musharraf Bails on Karzai Meeting
Musharraf Bails on Karzai Meeting
Aug 8, 2007 2:16 PM CDT

Musharraf Bails on Karzai Meeting

Pakistan chief snubs Afghan jirga; US claims 'good reasons'

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf has backed out of meetings with his Afghan counterpart in an abrupt snub that initially shocked Washington. Musharraf told Hamid Karzai he has other “engagements" at home in Pakistan and can't attend the meeting of tribal leaders intended to discuss military violence. The US is looking into...

US Troops High on Afghan Heroin
US Troops
High on
Afghan Heroin
Aug 7, 2007 11:15 AM CDT

US Troops High on Afghan Heroin

Boredom, frustration drive soldiers to cheap, ubiquitous drug

(Newser) - Bored US soldiers have easy access to heroin in poppy-rich Afghanistan, and few fear punishment if they're caught using it, Salon reports. Filmmaker Shaun McCanna says he was able to score heroin easily on over a dozen occasions during his two trips to the war-torn country.

Bush, Karzai Diverge on Iran
Bush, Karzai Diverge on Iran
Aug 6, 2007 4:14 PM CDT

Bush, Karzai Diverge on Iran

Leaders discuss regional stability

(Newser) - President Bush and Hamid Karzai emerged from today's Camp David meetings together, but they've clearly parted ways on the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Iran's role in Afghanistan. Bush put the onus on Iran to demonstrate that it's not a "destabilizing force," the Washington Post reports, but Karzai is already...

Hostage: We Don't Want to Die
Hostage: We Don't Want to Die
Aug 6, 2007 5:45 AM CDT

Hostage: We Don't Want to Die

Medicines delivered to South Korean captives

(Newser) - Afghan doctors yesterday delivered medicines to 21 South Korean hostages held by Taliban rebels as one of the captives pleaded for their lives in an emotional radio interview. "We are all sick and weak," a nurse told Voice of America, pleading with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to...

Karzai to Meet With Musharraf
Karzai to Meet With Musharraf
Aug 5, 2007 6:29 PM CDT

Karzai to Meet With Musharraf

Feuding leaders will discuss quest for insurgents operating along shared border

(Newser) - Facing mounting US pressure to extinguish the Taliban and capture Osama bin Laden, dueling presidents Pervez Musharraf and Hamid Karzai will meet this week to discuss anti-terrorism efforts, CNN reports. Karzai has criticized his Pakistani counterpart for failed efforts to crack down on terrorism, but today the Afghan leader praised...

Seoul Pleads for Taliban Talks
Seoul Pleads for Taliban Talks
Aug 4, 2007 3:55 PM CDT

Seoul Pleads for Taliban Talks

Delegation arrives in Afghanistan while Afghans, Taliban search for venue

(Newser) - South Korean officials are in Afghanistan seeking direct talks with the Taliban, Reuters reports, as the terrorist group and the Afghan government bicker over a venue for their own negotiations to free the  21 remaining Korean hostages. Two male members of the church group have been killed by the kidnappers.

Seoul to Taliban: Our Hands Are Tied

Frustrated South Korean govt. lacks authority to satisfy kidnappers' demands

(Newser) - South Korean officials on a desperate mission to Afghanistan are attempting to impress upon the Taliban that they cannot single-handedly meet the organization's demands. The delegation has been in contact with the kidnappers in an efforts to negotiate the release of 21 South Korean hostages, Reuters reports, but it can't...

Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll
Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll
Aug 3, 2007 5:48 AM CDT

Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll

Brit Study: Alcoholism, post traumatic stress soar after 13 months

(Newser) - Soldiers who serve extended tours in combat zones have much higher rates of alcoholism, post traumatic stress syndrome and problems at home, a large British study has found. Of those in war zones for more than 13 months over three years, one in four had "severe" alcohol problems, compared...

Seoul Seeks Direct Talks With Taliban

South Korean delegation heads to DC to seek help in hostage crisis

(Newser) - South Korean delegates arrived in Afghanistan today to press for an end to the 2-week hostage crisis that has left two dead, Reuters reports. Seoul has asked for direct talks with the Taliban, which continues to hold 21 church workers, most of them women. But South Korea is powerless to...

Obama Talks Tough on Pakistan
Obama Talks Tough on Pakistan
Aug 1, 2007 2:24 PM CDT

Obama Talks Tough on Pakistan

Antiwar Dem flexes muscles, wants new troops to Mideast

(Newser) - Barack Obama said in a speech today he’d be tougher than Bush on Pakistan, and that he'd like to see the US troops that ought to be withdrawn from Iraq redeployed in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan—with or without an invitation, the AP reports. The freshman...

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