Afghanistan

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Australia Pulling Afghan Troops a Year Early

Julia Gillard announces accelerated timeframe for withdrawal

(Newser) - Australian PM Julia Gillard today announced that she will pull home her nation's troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013, reports Australia's ABC News . "This is a war with a purpose, this is a war with an end," Gillard said, citing improved security conditions. "...

Karzai Blames Taliban Blitz on NATO 'Failure'

Attack on Kabul over after 18 hours

(Newser) - Yesterday's 18-hour assault on Kabul is finally over after the last gunman was killed this morning, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that the attack proves the "failure" of NATO and intelligence services. In his first statement after the assault, Karzai added that Afghanistan displayed its ability...

At Least 35 Dead in Afghan Attacks

Taliban? Haqqani network? Either way, insurgents are reportedly cornered

(Newser) - Brazen attacks on government buildings in Kabul and various locations in eastern Afghanistan claimed at least 35 lives today, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five civilians, 11 police officers, and 19 insurgents are reported dead after attacks on buildings in Kabul, including US, British, and German embassies, the parliament...

Explosions, Gunfire Rock Kabul


 Taliban Attacks Rock Kabul 
UPDATED
Apr 15, 2012 7:22 AM CDT

Taliban Attacks Rock Kabul

Taliban claims responsibility for series of attacks on diplomatic area, parliament

(Newser) - At least a dozen large explosions and sustained gunfire tore through Kabul this morning, in what appears to be a series of coordinated attacks on the city's diplomatic zone, reports the Telegraph . Fighting was reported around the British and US embassies, while smoke billowed from near the German embassy....

Twin Afghan Bombings Kill at Least 18

Both attacks targeted gov't buildings, including police station in Helmand

(Newser) - Two suicide bombings in Afghanistan killed at least 18 people today, including eight policemen in an attack on a police station in southern Helmand province, reports the AP . Three men with bombs tried to enter a police station. Police spotted the attack and killed one man, but the other two...

Afghans Take Over Night Raids
 Afghans Take Over Night Raids 
Apr 9, 2012 2:10 AM CDT

Afghans Take Over Night Raids

Deal big step in returning operations control to Afghan authorities

(Newser) - The US will end its deeply unpopular night raids in Afghanistan as part of a larger deal handing over special operations control to the Afghan military, reports the New York Times . The agreement puts Afghan forces in charge of night raids, and requires Afghan court warrants for raids. Usually, warrants...

Iran Tried to Stir Anti-US Violence After Koran Mess

Its efforts to make trouble in Afghanistan largely failed

(Newser) - As if the situation in Afghanistan isn't messy enough, American officials today revealed that Iran tried to stir the pot. Tehran apparently jumped on the news that US troops had burned Korans at Bagram in late February, ordering agents stationed in the country to try to spur on violent...

Angry Afghan Prober Barred From Questioning Bales

'I just wanted to ask him why he did it,' says official

(Newser) - An Afghan investigative chief is frustrated he was not allowed to question the US serviceman charged in the shooting rampage that left 17 Afghan men, women, and children dead. General Sher Mohammed Karimi said he was never allowed to speak to Staff Sergeant Robert Bales before he was whisked off...

Why Afghanistan Is a &#39;Fool&#39;s Errand&#39;
 Why Afghanistan 
 Is a 'Fool's Errand' 
Thomas Friedman
Apr 1, 2012 10:28 AM CDT

Why Afghanistan Is a 'Fool's Errand'

We cannot export democracy, just support democratic institutions

(Newser) - It's no surprise that US policies are failing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and around the region—they're completely missing what makes countries succeed, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . The key, according to a new book, Why Nations Fail , is developing "inclusive" economic and political...

US Fingers Senior Afghan in Troop Deaths

...but Karzai won't prosecute, says the case is closed

(Newser) - Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is refusing to prosecute a former Afghan provincial governor for his alleged role in the killing of a US lieutenant colonel and a servicewoman, in addition to other crimes, reports the Wall Street Journal . US officials are accusing Ghulam Qawis Abu Bakr of corruption and ordering...

Afghan Policeman Kills 9 Sleeping Fellow Officers

Officials blame Taliban for attack

(Newser) - An Afghan policeman killed nine of his fellow officers as they lay sleeping in a village in the eastern Paktika province today, police said, blaming the attack on the Taliban. The gunman was assigned to a small command post when he woke up at 3am for guard duty. He then...

Bin Laden Fathered 4 Kids While on the Run: Wife

Youngest wife reveals al-Qaeda leader's movements after 9/11

(Newser) - During the nine years Osama bin Laden spent in hiding in Pakistan after 9/11, he made his way between five different homes in the country and fathered four children, according to his youngest wife. As recounted by a Pakistani police report, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah revealed that two of the children...

Afghan Massacre Survivor: I Saw Up to 20 Soldiers

First Western journalist visits Afghan village where 17 died

(Newser) - Australia's Yalda Hakim has become the first Western journalist to interview survivors of the massacre that killed 17 Afghan civilians, and their account of events is very different from the US military's. Military officials say that Robert Bales acted alone, but some survivors spoke of seeing up to...

US Troops in Afghanistan to Get 'Guardian Angels'

...who will watch over them as they sleep. Literally

(Newser) - As the number of green-on-blue attacks steadily climbs, US troops in Afghanistan will receive a new protector: "guardian angels." These safekeepers are the flesh-and-blood kind, actual troops who will watch over their sleeping comrades. It's one of a number of new security measures ordered by the US...

Hundreds of Afghan Women Jailed for 'Moral Crimes'

Karzai government not making progress, rights groups says

(Newser) - More than a decade after the Taliban regime was ousted, Afghanistan is still imprisoning hundreds of women for "moral crimes" like running away from their husbands, according to Human Rights Watch. The group interviewed scores of women in Afghan prisons, and found that many were there because they had...

Afghan Soldiers Busted in Kabul Terror Plot: NYT

10 suicide vests seized at defense ministry building, officials say

(Newser) - The Afghan government has prevented what could have been the most devastating attack yet from its own forces, according to the New York Times . The Defense Ministry in Kabul went into total lockdown yesterday after more than a dozen soldiers were arrested for planning an attack on the building, and...

US Support for Afghan War Plummets
 US Support for 
 Afghan War Plummets 
all-time low
Mar 27, 2012 4:00 AM CDT

US Support for Afghan War Plummets

69% say US shouldn't be there

(Newser) - American support for the war in Afghanistan has reached an all-time low, according to the latest New York Times / CBS poll. Some 69% of those polled believe the US shouldn't be fighting in Afghanistan, up from 53% just four months ago. Support has plunged among both Democrats and...

Risky Malaria Drug: a Factor in Afghan Massacre?

US military orders emergency review of mefloquine use

(Newser) - In the wake of the shootings of 17 civilians in Afghanistan, the US military is scrambling to limit the use of an anti-malaria drug that can have serious side effects—including psychotic behavior. Mefloquine, also called Lariam, has already been implicated in a number of suicides and homicides. In 2009,...

Afghan Soldier Kills 2 NATO Troops

It's the latest 'green on blue' attack

(Newser) - Two more NATO service members were shot and killed today in the latest "green on blue" attack to hit Afghanistan. The British troops were killed in front of the main gate of a NATO base in southern Afghanistan by a shooter who has reportedly served in the Afghan army...

Robert Bales' Wife: I Don't Think He Killed Them

Karilyn Bales tells Matt Lauer, 'This is not what it appears to be'

(Newser) - When Karilyn Bales first heard that the US soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians was a 38-year-old staff sergeant, it occurred to her that "I don't think there are very many of those," she told Matt Lauer on Today this morning, and she "prayed and...

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