Afghanistan

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Afghan Massacre Suspect Had Brain Injury: Lawyer

Lawyers ready 'mental health defense' for Robert Bales

(Newser) - Before allegedly launching a shooting spree against Afghan villagers, US Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, his lawyer said at a hearing yesterday. Bales' defense team said it was readying a "mental health defense" in the massacre case; lawyer John Henry...

Torture Reports Halt US-Afghan Detainee Transfer

Human rights abuses could stop funding for Afghan troops

(Newser) - Amid word of inhumane treatment, including torture, the US has halted the transfer of detainees to some Afghan prisons, the New York Times reports. And with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai seeking internal control of detention, the decision is likely to further strain the countries' relationship. The move also comes with...

Hamid Karzai: US Is Giving Us a Drone Fleet

But division remains over Afghanistan troop withdrawal

(Newser) - In his first public comments since his visit to Washington, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced yesterday that the US is giving Afghanistan a fleet of unarmed aerial spy drones, the New York Times reports. A pleased Karzai said his meetings with President Obama gave him most of what he wanted;...

US Considers Total Afghan Withdrawal

'Zero option' after 2014 raised before Karzai talks

(Newser) - How many US troops should stay in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends next year? For the first time, officials are now saying zero is an option. Commanders recommend keeping a force of up to 15,000 in the country, but Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, speaking to...

On Karzai's Agenda for US Visit: Complaints

Afghan president has list of demands

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai will be in DC this week, and the visit sounds like it will be a less-than-pleasant one for President Obama. The Washington Post details the list of complaints Karzai will want to discuss, chief among them Karzai's belief that the US is violating his country's sovereignty...

Post-2014 Afghanistan: US Has 3 Options

Gen. Allen presents scenarios to Pentagon

(Newser) - Gen. John Allen has submitted three options to the Pentagon for how to maintain a presence in Afghanistan after the 2014 military withdrawal, defense officials tell the New York Times :
  • 6,000 troops, highest risk of failure: At this level, the US mission would focus on counterterrorism. Special Ops commandos
...

Blowback Feared After US Strike Kills Pakistani Ally

Maulvi Nazir reportedly had truce with Pakistan

(Newser) - A pair of US drone strikes in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border killed 13 people today, including a senior militant commander who had a truce with the Pakistani military, intelligence officials and residents said. Five Pakistani security officials said the commander, Maulvi Nazir, was reportedly among nine people killed...

Prince Harry a Drunk 'Jackal': Afghan Warlord

Hekmatyar has no kind words for British royal

(Newser) - What happened in Vegas apparently followed Prince Harry to Afghanistan: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister known as among the "most feared and wanted warlords," brands the prince a "jackal" in a new interview with the Telegraph . "The British prince comes to Afghanistan to kill innocent...

Afghans to Fleeing US Forces: Where's the Rent?

Property disputes simmer over abandoned bases

(Newser) - Afghans are crying foul over US forces that have fled their bases without paying rent or settling land disputes that could undermine the Afghan government, the Guardian reports. In one village in eastern Kunar province, people awoke one morning to find buildings of a US base blown up, with air...

Navy SEAL Dies in Apparent Suicide in Afghanistan

Job Price, 42, found dead on Saturday

(Newser) - Some somber news on this holiday weekend: A US military official says the commander of a Navy SEAL unit in Afghanistan died Saturday in an apparent suicide. Job Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died of a non-combat-related injury while working to shore up stability operations in Uruzgan Province. The official...

Afghan Policewoman Kills US Adviser

It's the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks

(Newser) - An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul today, senior Afghan officials said. The killing of the American, who worked as a contractor with the NATO command, was the first known insider attack by a woman in Afghanistan, and the latest in a...

Prince Harry 'Makes 1st Kill' in Afghanistan

His unit's Apache helicopter rescued patrol under attack

(Newser) - Prince Harry has likely killed his first Taliban militants in Afghanistan. He probably made the kill when his unit's Apache attack helicopter came to the rescue of a patrol under attack, the Telegraph reports. Military sources denied reports that he had gunned down a Taliban commander, but said he...

Soldier in Afghan Massacre to Face Death Penalty

Army will seek death for Robert Bales, it announced today

(Newser) - The US Army said today it will seek the death penalty against the soldier accused of massacring 16 Afghan villagers, including nine children, during pre-dawn raids in March. The announcement followed a pretrial hearing last month for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales , 39, who faces premeditated murder and other charges in...

Landmine Kills 10 Girls in Afghanistan

Girls were out collecting firewood

(Newser) - Ten young girls have been killed and two others were injured in a landmine explosion in eastern Afghanistan. The local governor says the girls, aged between nine and 11, were killed when one of them hit the mine with an axe as they were out collecting firewood, the BBC reports....

SEAL Team Six Member Dies in Daring Rescue From Taliban

Troops free kidnapped American doctor

(Newser) - A member of Seal Team Six died during a daring rescue mission in Afghanistan yesterday, in which special forces successfully freed an American doctor from the Taliban. "He gave his life for his fellow Americans," President Obama said in praising the man, while Leon Panetta called him a...

US Troop Deaths in Afghanistan Plummet in 2012

Deaths drop 25%, reflecting lower presence, increased Afghan responsibility

(Newser) - So far this year, 301 American troops have died in Afghanistan, down from 2010's peak of 500 and last year's 413, USA Today reports. The sharp decrease reflects the declining number of US troops in the country and the increasing number of Afghan troops now fighting the Taliban....

US to UN: We've Held 200 Teens in Afghanistan

Youths' average age is 16: report

(Newser) - During the war in Afghanistan, the US has detained some 200 teenage "enemy combatants," each for about a year, American officials tell the UN. The youths have been held at a military prison near Bagram Airfield not as punishment, but in order to prevent them "from returning...

Most, Least Corrupt Nations
 Most, Least 
 Corrupt Nations 
Dec 5, 2012 12:41 PM CST

Most, Least Corrupt Nations

North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia fare worst in annual rankings

(Newser) - Surprise, surprise: North Korea is perceived as highly corrupt, according to Transparency International's annual rankings . The group gave 176 nations a score from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Here's a look at some of the findings:
  • Afghanistan and Somalia tied North Korea for last place, each
...

Taliban Kill 5 in Suicide Blast at US-Afghan Base

Hit sparks 2-hour gunbattle in Jalalabad

(Newser) - Taliban suicide bombers attacked a joint US-Afghan air base in eastern Afghanistan early today, detonating explosives at the gate and sparking a gunbattle that lasted at least two hours with American helicopters firing down at militants before the attackers were defeated. The attackers and at least five Afghans were killed,...

Kabul Bank Was a Massive Ponzi Scheme: Audit

Its purpose: to benefit Karzai insiders

(Newser) - Fraud was rampant at Kabul Bank—and a new report shows how deeply the corruption went. Indeed, "from its very beginning, the bank was a well-concealed Ponzi scheme," says an audit obtained by the New York Times . The bank's primary purpose, the audit suggests, was financial gain...

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