Afghanistan

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McChrystal Lied About Tillman's Death: Krakauer

New book draws attention to general's role in cover-up

(Newser) - A new book is dredging up some uncomfortable history for Stanley McChrystal at an inconvenient time. Just as the general's credibility is on the line in Afghanistan, Jon Krakauer’s paints McChrystal as the central figure in the cover-up of Pat Tillman’s friendly fire death. McChrystal says he made...

Karzai, US Stuck With Each Other
 Karzai, US Stuck 
 With Each Other 
ANALYSIS
Nov 2, 2009 4:04 AM CST

Karzai, US Stuck With Each Other

Afghan prez must act quickly to restore legitimacy

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai is suddenly the only game in town after Abdullah Abdullah’s withdrawal from a runoff election, and the Obama administration must figure out how to restore legitimacy to the Afghan president’s government and extend his influence outside of Kabul. It's critical that Karzai wins back the support...

Jarrett: Abdullah Quitting Isn't a Complication

Says election up to Afghan gov't; Obama decision may be delayed

(Newser) - Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett says Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from next weekend's runoff election in Afghanistan won't complicate the White House's decision-making process on a war strategy. But Jarrett tells George Stephanopoulos that the president's decision could slide back to late November. “The President will make a decision...

Abdullah Pulls Out of Runoff
 Abdullah 
 Pulls Out 
 of Runoff 


AFGHANISTAN ELECTION
Nov 1, 2009 7:23 AM CST

Abdullah Pulls Out of Runoff

Cites Karzai's refusal to reform election system

(Newser) - The only contender to unseat Afghan President Hamid Karzai today followed through on his threat to boycott the runoff election slated for Nov. 7. Citing Karzai's refusal to overhaul the election system as impetus for his decision, Abdullah Abdullah declared a “transparent election is not possible” at a news...

Karzai Challenger Plans to Call for Boycott

But spokesman leaves room for late maneuvering

(Newser) - Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah plans to boycott next week's runoff against Hamid Karzai and instead call for postponement of the vote until the spring, his campaign manager said today. "As of now," Abdullah plans to call for a boycott during a press conference tomorrow, he said. Abdullah...

UK Colonel's Death Raises Fury at Home

He's killed by roadside bomb after warning about lack of choppers

(Newser) - Britain's newspapers are up in arms today over the revelation that a commander got killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan just weeks after warning his superiors they weren't doing enough to prevent such deaths. Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe complained in an email that troops didn't have enough helicopters and...

Troop Injuries Hit New High in Afghanistan

Taliban roadside bombs highly effective against US

(Newser) - Injuries to US troops in Afghanistan have risen alarmingly in the last 3 months, as a Taliban offensive deploys deadlier roadside bombs aimed at American and other foreign forces. The rate of injury has surpassed that in Iraq during the heaviest fighting of the surge 2 years ago, the Washington...

Time to Act Presidential on Afghanistan
Time to Act Presidential on Afghanistan
Charles Krauthammer
Oct 30, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

Time to Act Presidential on Afghanistan

After 'yearlong drift,' Obama can't keep passing buck to Bush

(Newser) - President Obama loves to blame things on George W. Bush, and on Monday he did it again, referring to the “long years of drift in Afghanistan.” He must be trying to “explain away his own, well, yearlong drift on Afghanistan,” writes Charles Krauthammer . In March, Obama...

Obama Needs to Decide if He's in It to Win It
Obama Needs to Decide if He's in It to Win It
david brooks on afghan war
Oct 30, 2009 8:20 AM CDT

Obama Needs to Decide if He's in It to Win It

Hasn't proved he's truly committed to the fight

(Newser) - These White House strategy sessions on Afghanistan are all well and good and full of questions, writes David Brooks , but they sidestep the big one: Is he committed to the effort? We know President Obama is a smart guy. What we don't know is whether he has the "tenacity"...

Pakistan Finds Passports Linked to 9/11

Discovery suggests suspects hiding in South Waziristan

(Newser) - Pakistani soldiers battling their way into a Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border have seized passports that may be linked to 9/11 suspects. One is a German document belonging to a man named Said Bahaji, believed to be a member of the Hamburg cell that conceived the attacks. The passport...

Obama Looks for Local Allies in Afghanistan

Administration's decided it can't wipe out Taliban

(Newser) - President Obama has requested detailed, province-by-province analysis of Afghanistan’s local and tribal leaders, hoping to find more effective partners than the country’s weak and corrupt central government. The administration has concluded that no surge in troops will be able to eradicate the Taliban as a political force, but...

Karzai's Brother a Bad Investment for CIA
 Karzai's Brother 
 a Bad Investment for CIA 
aryn baker
Oct 28, 2009 1:32 PM CDT

Karzai's Brother a Bad Investment for CIA

Alleged drug runner undermines US effort

(Newser) - No one in Afghanistan will be shocked by the allegations that Ahmed Wali Karzai is a drug runner on the CIA payroll, writes Aryn Baker. The accusations are old news, and Aghans have always figured brother Hamid for a US stooge anyway. But it’s probably fairly shocking to Americans,...

Public Backs Afghan Troop Surge 47%-43%
Public Backs Afghan Troop Surge 47%-43%
Poll Numbers
Oct 28, 2009 11:21 AM CDT

Public Backs Afghan Troop Surge 47%-43%

....and majority support holding off on decision until after runoff

(Newser) - Public support for a troop surge in Afghanistan is surging, too, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll . Support for a troop increase edged out opposition 47% to 43%, after trailing opposition 44% to 51% last month. But 58% also support waiting until after the runoff election to make...

City-Focused Afghan Plan Winning Support

Emerging strategy fuses McChrystal, Biden competing plans

(Newser) - A plan one official describes as "McChrystal for the city, Biden for the country," is emerging as the administration continues to hammer out its Afghan strategy. The plan would concentrate US forces in population centers, while maintaining pressure on insurgents elsewhere with drone strikes and targeted attacks from...

UN Staffers Among Dozen Killed in Kabul Attacks

Taliban claims responsibility for attacks on guest houses

(Newser) - Six United Nations staffers and six others were killed today when militants armed with automatic weapons, grenades, and suicide vests stormed two guest houses in downtown Kabul where international workers were sleeping. One of the dead was American. The nationalities of the others was not immediately known. Rockets hit another...

Karzai's Brother on CIA Payroll: Insiders

Ahmed Wali Karzai has been linked to Afghanistan drug trade

(Newser) - The brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been on the CIA’s payroll for much of the past 8 years, a time during which he’s boosted his personal power in a large area of southern Afghanistan—and been linked to the opium trade. Ahmed Wali Karzai denies the...

Ex-Marine: Afghan War Not Worth Fighting
Ex-Marine: Afghan War Not Worth Fighting
Interview
Oct 27, 2009 7:35 AM CDT

Ex-Marine: Afghan War Not Worth Fighting

Former official explains why he resigned his post in protest

(Newser) - When Matthew Hoh resigned in protest last month, it sent a small tremor through the Pentagon and White House. Hoh, an ex-marine, was the US’ top civilian in Zabul province, until he reached the conclusion that the war wasn’t worth fighting. “My resignation is based not upon how...

14 Americans Killed in 2 Afghan Chopper Crashes
14 Americans Killed in 2 Afghan Chopper Crashes
UPDATED
Oct 26, 2009 7:42 AM CDT

14 Americans Killed in 2 Afghan Chopper Crashes

28 injured in collision, crash

(Newser) - A pair of helicopter crashes today in Afghanistan killed 14 US troops and civilian workers and injured at least 28 others. In the first crash, a helicopter went down in the west of the country after leaving the scene of a firefight with insurgents, killing 10 Americans—seven troops and...

Pentagon Holds Secret Afghan War Games

Mullen leads exercise to assess effects of troop surge

(Newser) - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, led a secret war game earlier this month to assess the Obama administration's options in Afghanistan, including a 44,000-troop surge. A team of military leaders used Gen. Stanley McChrystal's analysis to examine how Taliban insurgents and the Afghan...

Iraq, Afghan War Reporter Said to Be a Spy

... or so Gawker thinks

(Newser) - A war correspondent whose rescues in the Mideast have cost several lives is a spy for Washington, Gawker claims, declining to name names or reveal, for "blazingly obvious reasons," the sources for this report, except to say that they are current and former special forces troops. "We...

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