Afghanistan

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Troops' A/C Costs $20.2B— More Than NASA

Military spends $20B to cool tents in the Mideast

(Newser) - Which would you rather have: a space program or cool army tents in the Mideast? The US military spends $20.2 billion annually on air conditioning for tents in Iraq and Afghanistan—an amount that NPR notes tops NASA's entire budget, all damages BP has paid for the Gulf...

Afghanistan: Girl, 8, Used as Unwitting Suicide Bomber

Attackers have 'no respect for anything,' says politician

(Newser) - An 8-year-old girl became an unwitting suicide bomber in an attack on police today, according to Afghanistan's interior ministry. Insurgents gave the child a package and told her to bring it to police, detonating the explosives as she neared them. No one else was killed in the attack, reports...

Car Bomb at Afghan Clinic Kills at Least 25

Casualty reports chaotic

(Newser) - A suicide attacker blew up his explosives-laden SUV outside of a small medical clinic about 25 miles east of Kabul today, killing at least 25 people, Afghan authorities said. The Afghan Health Ministry initially said in a statement that some 60 people were killed and 120 wounded. But at a...

France Backs Obama's Afghan Drawdown, Plans Its Own

Sarkozy has 4,000 troops there

(Newser) - A mere 12 hours after President Obama spoke on his Afghanistan drawdown, France offered its support for the plan. It will also begin a pullout of its 4,000 troops next month, “in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements,”...

Once Burned, Afghans Fear Repeat of 1989

Troop withdrawal could lead to instability, some fear

(Newser) - Political leaders in Afghanistan are concerned that President Obama's decision to start withdrawing US forces could lead to a repeat of the US withdrawal in 1989, when Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was allowed to gain major influence. "We don't want to go back 20 years when [ISI...

Speech Was Obama&#39;s &#39;Mission Accomplished&#39;
 Speech Was Obama's 
 'Mission Accomplished' 
Dana Milbank
Jun 23, 2011 6:55 AM CDT

Speech Was Obama's 'Mission Accomplished'

All he needed was a flight suit

(Newser) - He may not have unfurled a banner or donned a flight suit, “but make no mistake: President Obama gave his own version of a ‘mission accomplished’ speech last night,” writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post . Last night the president declared—“perhaps prematurely”—that the...

Taliban's Share of Afghan Civilian Deaths Rises

They're behind 85% of civilian deaths, coalition says

(Newser) - Coalition forces in Afghanistan say their efforts to avoid collateral damage are paying off. Insurgents, by their estimates, are now responsible for 85% of civilian deaths and injuries in the war, up from 75% of deaths and 78% of injuries last year. “The vast majority of civilian casualties are...

Obama to Pull 10K Troops From Afghanistan

Officials say that's the number he's settled on for 2011

(Newser) - President Obama will outline his plans for starting to get American troops out of Afghanistan in a speech to the nation tomorrow night, and officials tell the Los Angeles Times that the magic number for 2011 will be 10,000. That's more than what many were hoping to hear:...

Brit Marine Leaves Pals $150K for Vegas Extravaganza

David Hart liked to have a good time

(Newser) - A British marine killed in Afghanistan left 32 of his closest friends a hefty parting gift: $150,000 for a Las Vegas vacation, reports the Huffington Post . Before David Hart left for duty, he took out a life insurance policy for roughly $400,000, and gave strict instructions that a...

Karzai: US, Taliban in Talks
 Karzai: US, Taliban in Talks 
Jun 18, 2011 5:41 AM CDT

Karzai: US, Taliban in Talks

US has no comment

(Newser) - The United States is talking with the Taliban, Hamid Karzai said today, in the first official glimmer of an end to the 10-year war in Afghanistan. "Peace talks have started with (the Taliban) already and it is going well," Karzai said. "The foreign military and especially the...

Afghan 'Allies' Increasingly Killing US Troops

Military report sees killings as a 'systemic threat'

(Newser) - Afghan troops are killing US troops in numbers that “may be unprecedented between 'allies' in modern history,” according to a new classified military report that warns the killings are becoming a “rapidly growing systemic threat” that could undermine the war effort. Based on interviews with 600...

Pentagon: Wait Til Fall 2012 to End Afghanistan Surge

Military pushes for slow withdrawal as Obama weighs next move

(Newser) - The military has called on President Obama to keep the Afghanistan troop surge in place until the fall of next year, ensuring that many of the 33,000 extra troops remain in the country for the next two fighting seasons, when the weather is warm. The military wants to avoid...

Mess Up Afghan Exit, and Bigger War Awaits
Mess Up Afghan Exit,
and Bigger War Awaits
Henry Kissinger
Jun 8, 2011 1:19 PM CDT

Mess Up Afghan Exit, and Bigger War Awaits

This is a global problem, not just ours: Henry Kissinger

(Newser) - The eventual withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan is necessary, but it cannot be hasty or ill-planned, writes Henry Kissinger in the Washington Post . The conflict is often seen as an American one, but this is truly an international problem. A bad handoff "is a prescription for...

When US Leaves, Afghan Economy Is Screwed
When US Leaves, Afghan Economy Is Screwed
says report
Jun 8, 2011 7:48 AM CDT

When US Leaves, Afghan Economy Is Screwed

Democrat-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee urges policy retool

(Newser) - Our $18.8 billion nation-building efforts in Afghanistan have had only limited success, while vastly distorting the Afghan economy, a new report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee concludes. A whopping 97% of Afghanistan’s GDP comes from foreign military and development spending, meaning the country “could suffer a...

Pentagon Opposes Quick Afghanistan Exit

'We shouldn't let up on the gas,' Gates warns

(Newser) - The military is digging in its heels against the idea of a swift withdrawal from Afghanistan. “I think we shouldn’t let up on the gas too much, at least for the next few months,” Robert Gates told troops yesterday, as he finished his final trip to Afghanistan...

Obama Weighs Quicker Afghanistan Pullout

But Gates, Petraeus point to risks

(Newser) - With Osama bin Laden dead and war costs increasing, the Obama administration is weighing a sharper drawdown of troops from Afghanistan than it had planned, the New York Times reports. But the issue is still very much up in the air, and outgoing defense secretary Robert Gates advocates slower steps....

Robert Gates Makes Farewell Afghanistan Trip

Defense secretary underscores need for success

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew to Afghanistan today in an unannounced visit to say farewell to US troops and Afghan leaders. Gates, who is retiring at the end of the month, planned to meet with soldiers and Marines in eastern and southern Afghanistan. He also was holding talks with...

Next in Budget Crosshairs: Afghanistan War

'Money is the new 800-lb gorilla,' says one official

(Newser) - With budget battles in Washington growing ever fiercer and the US military poised to spend $113 billion on operations in Afghanistan this year, cost is going to be the largest factor in troop reductions there, reports the Washington Post . Afghanistan's inaccessibility and lack of resources means nearly everything the...

Karzai: No More NATO Airstrikes on Houses

Warns of unilateral move to stop attacks

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai has called on NATO to cease all airstrikes on civilian homes, warning that Afghanistan could unilaterally intervene to stop any continued attacks. The Afghan president spoke at a televised press conference following a US airstrike that killed some 12 women and children . “The Afghan people can no...

US Troops Mark Memorial Day in Iraq, Afghanistan

Soldiers honor fallen comrades

(Newser) - US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan remembered their fallen comrades in Memorial Day services nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that sparked the Afghanistan war. In that country, dawn flag-raising ceremonies honored the more than 1,400 who have been killed, the AP reports. "We...

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