Afghanistan

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White House Torn Apart By Afghan War

Bob Woodward book reveals deep fault lines over war policy

(Newser) - The Obama White House is a simmering pot of anger and disagreement, with too many bickering chefs handling of the war in Afghanistan, according to a new book by Bob Woodward that exposes deep rifts in the administration. Here, via the New York Times , are some of the juicy bits...

Chopper Crash Makes 2010 Deadliest Year of Afghan War
Chopper Crash Makes 2010 Deadliest Year of Afghan War
9 americans killed
Sep 21, 2010 7:52 AM CDT

Chopper Crash Makes 2010 Deadliest Year of Afghan War

Taliban claims responsibility

(Newser) - Nine American troops were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan today, making this year the deadliest one of the conflict for foreign troops, reports NBC . Some 529 foreign fighters have been killed in the country so far, compared to 521 in 2009, the previous deadliest year. The American...

Thousands of Complaints Expected in Afghan Election

Karzai says it's 'too soon to tell' if it was successful

(Newser) - Looks like this weekend’s election in Afghanistan went about as poorly as the last one. Afghanistan’s official election watchdog says it’s already received more than 700 complaints, and expects the figure to reach 3,000 over the next two days, according to Reuters . An independent watchdog meanwhile...

Taliban Attacks Keep Turnout Low in Afghan Vote

Too early to gauge the legitimacy of parliamentary election

(Newser) - Despite Taliban rocket strikes and bombings, Afghans voted for a new parliament today, the first election since a fraud-marred presidential ballot last year cast doubt on the legitimacy of the government. Still, the defense minister described turnout as "low." As officials tally votes over the next few days,...

Taliban Abducts Candidates Ahead of Election

Intimidation campaign precedes tomorrow's vote

(Newser) - Taliban fighters have reportedly abducted more than 20 people in an intimidation campaign designed to derail tomorrow’s parliamentary elections, including at least two candidates. The Taliban also warned yesterday that anyone showing up to vote tomorrow “would get hurt.” NATO troops, meanwhile, have vowed to protect the...

Just in Time for Afghan Election: Fake Voter Cards

Voter fraud feared as elections near

(Newser) - Printers in a Pakistan city near the Afghan border say they have produced thousands of fake voter registration cards at the request of Afghan politicians for use in that country's parliamentary elections on Saturday. The cards, some shown to the AP, add to evidence that fraud could undermine the elections...

1 Dead, 5 Hurt in Afghan Protests Against Karzai, US

Police 'warning shots' hit crowd of protesters

(Newser) - Afghan police today fired into a crowd of rock-hurling anti-American demonstrators chanting "Death to America," "Death to Christians," and "Death to Karzai" in Kabul today. One was killed and at least five injured, two from gunshots. The US Koran-burning controversy has stirred days of outrage...

Afghan Progress Like 'Watching Paint Dry': Petraeus

But general says those gains are worth it

(Newser) - A full counterinsurgency victory in Afghanistan could take a full decade, General Petraeus tells ABC News in a wide-ranging interview. Despite that, he fully expects to follow the president's plan to begin drawing down forces in July 2011. The pace at which that withdrawal proceeds, however, will be "determined...

US Lets Corrupt Afghan Officials Off the Hook

Cases will be worked behind closed doors to appease Karzai

(Newser) - The Obama administration intends to dial back its attempts to clean up Hamid Karzai’s government, sources tell the Washington Post . Senior administration officials say they’ve generally agreed that instead of prosecuting allegedly corrupt Afghan officials, they should work out backroom compromises that won’t embarrass Karzai. “The...

Taliban Using Child Soldiers
 Taliban Using Child Soldiers 
Sep 12, 2010 4:32 PM CDT

Taliban Using Child Soldiers

Some are probably coerced; others likely bribed

(Newser) - The Taliban is using child soldiers as young as three years old in Afghanistan, US Marines tell USA Today . “We've seen children actually dropping mortar rounds in the (firing) tubes against us,” says one. “I've never seen a culture that cares so little for human life.”...

Anti-Koran-Burning Protests Kill 2 More

Troops fired on protesters storming gov't building

(Newser) - Two more people died in Afghanistan's third day of violent protests against Terry Jones' plan to burn the Koran, as many Afghans seemed unaware that the controversial pastor called the plan off. As the AP reports, the ruckus over the small US church stirred anger toward Afghanistan's pro-Western government, and...

Pentagon May Buy 10K Copies of Book to Protect Secrets

It finds breaches after memoir is published

(Newser) - The Pentagon plans to buy—and destroy—the entire first run of an Afghanistan war memoir that officials say contains classified information, the New York Times reports. Operation Dark Heart, by former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Anthony Shaffer, got approved by Army reviewers in January and sent to the presses....

Koran Burning Sparks Violent Afghan Protests

One killed, eight wounded in two protests

(Newser) - Dove World’s plan to burn Korans set off protests across Afghanistan today, and two of them turned violent. In western Afghanistan, four protesters were shot, one of them fatally, outside a NATO base in Bala Buluk. “We do not know who shot them,” said a doctor at...

Karzai to Taliban: Join Peace Talks

Afghan president calls on Taliban leader to stop fighting

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai has officially invited Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to take part in Afghan peace talks. The Afghan president hopes Omar "gives up fratricide, gives up bombings and blasts, stops causing casualties to Afghanistan's children, women, and men" and instead "joins the peace process," he said...

Many Translators in Afghanistan Can't Speak the Languages

Ex-employee says contractor fudged exam results to boost profits

(Newser) - The contractor that supplies the military with Afghan translators is putting American lives at risk by sending out unqualified translators, a former employee charges. Paul Funk—who used to oversee the screening of Afghan linguists for Mission Essential Personnel—tells ABC News that the company inflated grades and tolerated cheating...

US Soldiers in Afghanistan Took Home 'Finger Trophies'

'Kill team' murdered Afghan civilians for sport, say investigators

(Newser) - A secret "kill team" of US soldiers in Afghanistan murdered civilians for sport and kept their fingers as trophies, according to Army investigators. Prosecutors have charged members of an American infantry brigade with some of the most serious war crimes to surface in the Afghanistan war. Five of the...

Hostage Tricks Captors Into Twitter Access

He was able to let family, friends know he was still alive

(Newser) - A Japanese journalist held captive 5 months in Afghanistan used Twitter to let loved ones know he was alive—all because his captors weren't tech savvy. Kosuke Tsuneoka sent the tweets while teaching a low-ranking captor how to use his new cell phone, reports PC World. In explaining the wonders...

Petraeus Blasts Church's Plan to Burn Korans on 9/11

Says doing so will put our troops in danger

(Newser) - A Florida church that plans to burn Korans on Sept. 11 has turned a deaf ear to the city of Gainesville's condemnation of its plans —but will it listen to General Petraeus? The top US commander in Afghanistan blasted Dove World Outreach Center in an interview with the Wall ...

Karzai's Brother Skirts Kabul Bank Freeze

Afghanistan's top bank teeters on the brink

(Newser) - With Kabul Bank in crisis , authorities in Afghanistan have frozen some assets of all the bank’s principal owners—except for Mahmoud Karzai, brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The Afghan Central Bank has sent a letter banning the bank’s owners from selling property, the Washington Post reports, but...

War, Poverty, Taliban ... and Now Afghan Bank May Fail

(Newser) - What more could go wrong in woebegone Afghanistan? Well, its largest bank could fail. Fear of that has led long lines of depositors to crowd outposts of Kabul Bank, clamoring for their money, most unable to withdraw more than $1,000. The removal of long-time bank managers and rumors of...

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