Afghanistan

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US Saw Chance at bin Laden in 2007

Osama was expected at Taliban, al-Qaeda rally in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Four years ago, the US believed it had a chance to capture or kill Osama bin Laden: Militants would be gathering in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan for suicide attack training, and there were whispers that bin Laden would attend. A secret raid on the site resulted in the...

Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed
Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed
'60 minutes'
May 6, 2011 8:15 AM CDT

Obama: Perpetual Afghan Footprint No Longer Needed

Bin Laden's death confirms Afghan war can be refocused

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's death has stirred up a debate over whether the US should pull out of Afghanistan early. Asked about it on his upcoming 60 Minutes appearance, President Obama reminded Steve Kroft that he's already committed to a draw-down of troops starting in July. But bin Laden'...

With Osama Dead, Taliban, al-Qaeda May Part Ways

Bin Laden's death provides the opening for peace talks

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden's death is likely to make the Taliban rethink its alliance with al-Qaeda, which was likely initially based on a personal friendship between bin Laden and the Taliban's one-eyed leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, analysts tell the AP . The US and Afghan governments won't negotiate a...

Leon Panetta: Pakistan Might Have Alerted Osama

And Obama didn't actually watch him being killed

(Newser) - Pakistan was told nothing about the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, because the CIA thought “any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission,” Leon Panetta told Time yesterday. “They might alert the target.” The statement is likely to deepen the speculation swirling...

UCLA Students Came Close in 2009 Osama Prediction

Professor, class had the wrong city but the right idea

(Newser) - A UCLA geography professor and his class who tried to predict Osama bin Laden's whereabouts in 2009 don't get an A-plus, but easily a solid B. Professor Thomas Gillespie and crew determined that bin Laden would be within about 180 miles of Tora Bora and living in a...

Best Place to Be a Mom Is ...
 Best Place to Be a Mom Is... 
May 3, 2011 5:05 AM CDT

Best Place to Be a Mom Is...

...Norway, says index that considers maternity leave, mortality rates

(Newser) - Moms who want the good life should consider heading north. That's because Norway is the best place in the world to be a mother, according to new survey. Why? Norway has great health benefits, an average year-long maternity leave from work, and low child mortality rates, along with a...

Afghans: Osama’s Death Is Not ‘Mission Accomplished’

Al-Qaeda, Taliban aren't finished, officials warn, but others want US out of Afghanistan

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden may be dead, but Afghan officials warn that the war on terror is far from over, the New York Times reports—even as bin Laden's death strengthens cries for the US to pull out of Afghanistan. “The killing of Osama should not be seen as...

Scott Brown: I'll Serve in Afghanistan This Year

Senator will complete National Guard duty there this year

(Newser) - Scott Brown may be a Massachusetts senator, but he's also a lieutenant colonel in the state's Army National Guard—and as part of his duties, he will serve in Afghanistan, CNN reports. "I have service obligations that I fulfill each year. Following in the tradition of other...

Taliban Use Child Suicide Bomber

Using 12-year-old for attack inhumane, un-Islamic: Karzai

(Newser) - On the first day of its promised spring offensive, the Taliban used a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack today that killed four civilians, President Hamid Karzai said, calling the child's recruitment inhumane and un-Islamic. It was one of several attacks across the country that killed...

Taliban Promises Spring Offensive

It warns of increased attacks on foreign troops

(Newser) - The Taliban waged a propaganda attack today by warning of a spring offensive in Afghanistan. The statement from the group's leadership promised to ramp up attacks on "foreign invaders," members of the Karzai government, and anyone conducting business with NATO troops, reports the Los Angeles Times . Apparently...

Pentagon Plans ‘Comic Book Therapy’ for Troops

But results might not be great for PR

(Newser) - The Pentagon is looking to invest in the healing power of comic books. Convinced that creating graphic novels about their wartime exploits could help veterans deal with the mental scars of combat, military officials have launched an initiative asking software companies to create a web-based program that will allow troops...

Afghan Killed 9 Americans After Disarming Them

Pilot shot them after argument; brother denies Taliban link

(Newser) - The grim details are taking shape in the wake of today's shooting at Kabul's airport . All nine victims were Americans—eight US troops and one contractor—who were training members of Afghanistan's fledgling air force. The shooter, an Afghan pilot, got into an argument with the trainers,...

Afghan Pilot Kills NATO Troops After ‘Argument’

Man had been in Afghan military for 20 years

(Newser) - A veteran Afghan military officer opened fire on foreign forces today after a dispute at the Kabul airport, killing several NATO troops, Afghan and coalition officials said. It was the latest in a spate of attacks that have occurred inside government or military installations. The Taliban claimed responsibility, but Defense...

Pakistan to Afghanistan: Dump US

Pakistan would be a better long-term ally, Prime Minister Gilani argues

(Newser) - As the US prepares to withdraw most of its troops from Afghanistan by 2014, Afghanistan's neighbors are jockeying for increased influence—most notably Pakistan, which is blatantly lobbying Hamid Karzai to ditch the US. Rather than allow a long-term American military presence in Afghanistan, Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani...

Afghan Prison Break Looks Like Inside Job: Karzai

So far, just 65 convicts have been recaptured, and two killed

(Newser) - Hundreds of prisoners are still at large the day after a massive jailbreak in Afghanistan , but officials say Afghan and international forces have caught 65 of them and killed two. The justice minister acknowledged in a letter to President Hamid Karzai that the Taliban, which has claimed to have orchestrated...

NATO Kills al-Qaeda's No. 2 Man in Afghanistan

Airstrike gets Abdul Ghani

(Newser) - A NATO airstrike has taken out the alliance's second highest-ranked target in Afghanistan: Abdul Ghani, aka Abu Hafs al-Najdi, the alleged mastermind of a number of high-profile attacks, including the assassination of eastern tribal leader Malik Zarin. The strike occurred almost two weeks ago, in the Kunar province near...

Taliban Bust Hundreds Out of Afghan Prison

Taliban spokesman says 100 are commanders

(Newser) - Hundreds of prisoners, most of them Taliban fighters, escaped from an Afghanistan prison last night, and so far only 13 have been recaptured. Taliban militants staged the escape by digging a 1,050-foot underground tunnel into Kandahar's main prison and leading about 475 prisoners out, the AP reports. Al...

Two Afghan Schools Show One Complex Reality

Empty school result of government's alternative education program

(Newser) - Two schoolhouses—one never used and falling apart, the other full of children and thriving—built in the Afghanistan countryside by Greg Mortenson's scandal-embroiled charity show the complexities of bringing aid to this desolate, war-torn region. "But what I saw of the school-building program was difficult to fit...

Nicholas Kristof: 'Three Cups of Tea' Author Greg Mortenson Did Good Work Despite Scandal
 Scandal Aside,  
 Mortenson 
 Did Good Work 
Nicholas Kristof
Apr 21, 2011 12:16 PM CDT

Scandal Aside, Mortenson Did Good Work

Let's not get cynical about education

(Newser) - Nicholas Kirstof is reeling from the allegations against Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson , who he considers a personal friend. “Part of me wishes that all this journalistic energy had been directed instead to ferret out abuses by politicians who allocate government resources to campaign donors,” he...

Man in Army Uniform Kills 2 in Afghanistan

Taliban claims responsibility; gunman thought to be infiltrator

(Newser) - A man wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire inside the Defense Ministry today, killing at least two soldiers before being gunned down himself. A Defense Ministry spokesperson first called the attacker an Afghan soldier, then backtracked; he may have been a Taliban infiltrator, the AP reports. The Taliban claimed...

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