Afghanistan – News Stories About Afghanistan - Page 55

All Alone,
Karzai Twists
in Political Wind

Jan 27, 2011 11:34 AM CST

All Alone, Karzai Twists in Political Wind

Allies are deserting Afghan leader after failed stalling tactic

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s new parliament was finally sworn in yesterday, much to Hamid Karzai’s chagrin. The Afghan president’s failed bid to delay the new parliament’s arrival is the latest in a string of political miscues that have left Karzai in a precarious position, diplomats, analysts, and Afghan lawmakers...

Military Suicides Jump

Jan 24, 2011 4:15 PM CST

Military Suicides Jump

As many, if not more lost to suicide than combat

(Newser) - Admiral Mike Mullen's ominous prediction of a continuing rash of military suicides looks to be spot on—though suicides in 2010 didn't surpass combat deaths as they did in 2009, they did significantly jump, from 381 to 434, Congress.org reports. But that combined tally of 434 is also a...

Afghans Turning Their
Babies Into Addicts

Jan 24, 2011 9:41 AM CST

Afghans Turning Their Babies Into Addicts

Poor Afghans view opium as a 'tradition'

(Newser) - In a remote corner of northern Afghanistan, a woman feeds her four-year-old opium for breakfast. Her mother-in-law, sitting nearby, rolls some opium into a ball-shaped piece and puts it in her mouth. Three generations are addicted to the drug in this family, and there are many more Afghans like them,...

Karzai Relents, Agrees
to Seat Afghan Parliament

Jan 22, 2011 5:09 PM CST

Karzai Relents, Agrees to Seat Afghan Parliament

Lawmakers can get to work next week, finally

(Newser) - Under heavy pressure from Afghan lawmakers and Western diplomats, President Hamid Karzai agreed today to convene the newly elected parliament, ending a political standoff that threatened to spark a constitutional crisis. After hours of tense discussions at the presidential palace, Karzai backed off his earlier order to delay the session...

Karzai Refuses to Seat New Parliament

Jan 20, 2011 2:42 PM CST

Karzai Refuses to Seat New Parliament

Lawmakers plan to convene anyway this weekend

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai has delayed the inauguration of Afghanistan’s newly elected parliament, at the behest of a court he appointed himself to hear complaints from losing candidates largely loyal to him. Those candidates complain that fraud and security concerns excluded many people from the vote. But Karzai’s international allies...

GOP Senators Take
Secret Afghanistan Trip

Jan 17, 2011 10:28 AM CST

GOP Senators Take Secret Afghanistan Trip

Mitch McConnell and crew return with praise for Obama's strategy

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell and a handful of other Senate Republicans took a secret trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan this weekend, announcing the trip only today—just before their return flight. The group, which included Lindsey Graham, Richard Burr, and freshmen Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson, Pat Toomey, and Kelly Ayotte, met with...

Pedophilia Accepted in
South Afghanistan: Study

Jan 14, 2011 6:28 AM CST

Pedophilia Accepted in South Afghanistan: Study

'Boy play' common across parts of country

(Newser) - Pedophilia is a widely-accepted practice in southern Afghanistan, where "boys are apprenticed to older men for their sexual initiation," US social scientists find. British officers requested the study amid soldiers’ complaints about unwanted advances from locals, including Afghan soldiers. Young Western troops "were beginning to feel uncomfortable...

Biden to Karzai:
We'll Stay Past 2014

Jan 12, 2011 11:53 AM CST

Biden to Karzai: We'll Stay Past 2014

But he promises US will 'not be an occupying force'

(Newser) - So much for “hell or high water.” Joe Biden met with Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan yesterday, and emerged telling reporters that the US would be willing to keep troops in the country past 2014, provided the Afghan government wanted them there. “We have moved into a new...

Biden Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

Jan 10, 2011 11:58 AM CST

Biden Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

VP to review progress in security handover

(Newser) - The vice president has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. Joe Biden is in the country to review progress as allied forces turn security over to Afghan hands, the AP reports. He’s set to meet with President Karzai and US commander David Petraeus, the White House says; he’ll...

Afghan Amnesty Deal
Has Won Just 3% of Taliban

Jan 8, 2011 2:09 PM CST

Afghan Amnesty Deal Has Won Just 3% of Taliban

So much for Anbar Awakening II

(Newser) - It’s been a year since NATO launched the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Program, hoping to win over Taliban fighters in much the same way it won over Sunni fighters in Iraq. But so far, it ain’t going so well. Fewer than 800 insurgents have signed up—which is...

Trail of Warning Signs
Led to Soldier's Suicide

Jan 2, 2011 8:01 AM CST

Trail of Warning Signs Led to Soldier's Suicide

Questions raised about rising suicide rates in the US military

(Newser) - Staff Sgt. David Senft died not in the heat of battle, but alone and despondent in Afghanistan with a single gunshot to the head, an unsent text message typed into his phone that said, "I don't know what to say, I'm sorry." The US Army deployed Senft to...

GI Afghan 'Death Squad' Probe
Now Targets Leaders

Dec 30, 2010 3:30 AM CST

GI Afghan 'Death Squad' Probe Now Targets Leaders

Leadership of 5th Stryker Brigade allegedly did nothing to stop killings

(Newser) - With at least 5 US soldiers accused of forming a "kill team" that murdered Afghanistan civilians, the US military is now investigating the brigade's leadership, reports the Guardian . A brigadier general is conducting a "top to bottom" review of the army's 5th Stryker Combat Brigade after evidence emerged...

On Afghan-Pakistani Border, Insurgents Team Up

Dec 29, 2010 7:51 AM CST

On Afghan-Pakistani Border, Insurgents Team Up

American officials say new trend is proof militants are feeling pressure

(Newser) - A disturbing new trend on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border: Rival insurgent groups are laying aside their feuds and joining forces to fight American and allied forces. “This is actually a syndicate of related and associated militant groups and networks,” an American officer tells the New York Times . “They...

Karzai Waxed Poetic
About 'Golden Age' of Bush

WIKILEAKS REVEAL

Dec 29, 2010 7:48 AM CST

Karzai Waxed Poetic About 'Golden Age' of Bush

US ambassador told Afghan president to worry about the present

(Newser) - The White House doesn't bring Hamid Karzai flowers anymore, and the Afghan president is caught in a diplomatic cable waxing poetically over "the golden age" of US-Afghan relations under George W Bush. The cable was sent by Ambassador Karl Eikenberry last year after a meeting with Karzai, reports the...

Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout

OPINION

Dec 20, 2010 12:16 PM CST

Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout

VP claimed departure 'come hell or high water'

(Newser) - Joe Biden was in the spotlight this weekend for saying the US would follow its Iraq model and be “totally” out of Afghanistan by 2014, “come hell or high water.” Well, that’s just wrong, writes Justin Elliott in Salon . For one thing, withdrawal from Iraq hasn’...

Taliban Attacks Afghan
Military, Kills 13

Dec 19, 2010 1:40 PM CST

Taliban Attacks Afghan Military, Kills 13

Attackers wore army uniforms

(Newser) - Taliban suicide squads launched two attacks against Afghan security forces today, killing 13. At least four suicide bombers dressed in Afghan army uniforms stormed a recruitment center in Kunduz, setting it on fire amidst a lengthy gun battle. “There are gun shots, heavy machine guns fire and RPGs,”...

Troops on Course to Leave
Afghanistan in July: Report

Dec 16, 2010 7:51 AM CST

Troops on Course to Leave Afghanistan in July: Report

White House cites 'fragile' gains in region

(Newser) - The US is “setting conditions” to begin an Afghanistan troop withdrawal in July as planned, says a White House report. While President Obama’s strategy in the region is “showing progress,” the document says, “the challenge remains to make our gains durable and sustainable,” the...

Afghan Intelligence Report: We're Screwed

Dec 15, 2010 7:40 AM CST

Afghan Intelligence Report: We're Screwed

Reports contradict military's more upbeat view

(Newser) - The US is faring poorly in the Afghan war, with large areas of the country on the verge of falling to the Taliban, according to the latest National Intelligence Estimates on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The classified reports, which represent the collective wisdom of a dozen intelligence agencies, also say that...

Holbrooke's Last Words:
End Afghanistan War

Dec 14, 2010 6:42 AM CST

Holbrooke's Last Words: End Afghanistan War

Veteran diplomat made plea for peace on his way to surgery

(Newser) - Richard Holbrooke's dying wish was for an end to the war in Afghanistan, family members say. As he was heading into surgery in a Washington hospital, the late American special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan told his Pakistani surgeon, "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan," relatives...

6 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Suicide Bombing

Dec 12, 2010 2:35 PM CST

6 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Suicide Bombing

No nationalities given, but most forces in south are American

(Newser) - An explosives-packed minibus blew up at the entrance of a joint NATO-Afghan base in southern Afghanistan today, killing six NATO troops and two Afghan soldiers as they prepared to head out on patrol. NATO has claimed improvements in security after months of raids, patrols and strikes on insurgents in Kandahar...