Afghanistan

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Pakistanis Flee Swat Ahead of Taliban Clash

Militants take control of main city in strategic valley

(Newser) - Pakistani authorities have warned residents of the country's troubled Swat Valley to leave their homes ahead of an expected military operation in the Taliban-controlled area. The February peace deal between Pakistan and the Taliban, which included the introduction of Sharia law, has effectively collapsed, reports Reuters. Militants have infiltrated several...

Karzai Takes Ex-Warlords as Afghan Running Mates

Qasim Fahim held the post until 2004

(Newser) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai tapped a former mujahedeen warlord as one of his two vice-presidential candidates today, the New York Times reports. Muhammad Qasim Fahim was Karzai’s vice president from the beginning of his administration through 2004, and still holds sway with political parties made up of former guerrillas....

Pakistan Retakes Key Town From Taliban: Military

Will redeploy 6K troops from Indian to Afghan border

(Newser) - After deploying jets and helicopters yesterday in response to a Taliban incursion into the Buner district, Pakistan has taken back a key town, the military says. The country will also shift 6,000 troops from the Indian border to face militants along the Afghan border, said an official, a move...

US Preps Plans to Take Out Taliban Poppy Crop

Offensive aims to cut off Afghan insurgency's financial lifeline

(Newser) - American commanders in Afghanistan are preparing a huge assault on the Taliban's opium-growing heartlands this summer, reports the New York Times. Taking out the opium crop is key to NATO strategy, and commanders expect casualties on both sides will be high as the militants stand their ground to defend the...

Afghan Prez Confirms Re-Election Bid

Karzai promises to amend controversial 'marital rape' law

(Newser) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has confirmed for the first time that he will run for re-election in the country's elections this summer, the Times of London reports. Karzai repeated his pledge to amend a controversial law critics say condones marital rape and child marriage, surprising observers who believed he would...

Brown Talks Terrorism With Pakistani PM

Snubbed by Zardari, British PM focuses on tackling extremism

(Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown held talks with Pakistani leaders today, appearing at a joint press conference with his counterpart, Yusuf Raza Gilani, after President Asif Ali Zardari dropped out at the last minute. The BBC attributes the snub to unhappiness with the recent British arrest of 11 Pakistani nationals on...

Iowans (Mostly) Still Smile on Obama

Residents support president's efforts, fear over-spending and Afghanistan

(Newser) - Iowa, arguably the state that launched Barack Obama on his path to the presidency, will always be a "special place" for him, says press chief Robert Gibbs. And the feeling is—mostly—mutual, Politico reports. Obama enjoys a 64% statewide approval rating, and Iowans are reviving their Obama for...

Photos of Bush-Era Prisoner Abuse to Be Released

ACLU request for release of Iraq, Afghanistan photos granted

(Newser) - The Obama administration is releasing dozens of photographs depicting prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by Americans, the Los Angeles Times reports. The photos are not believed to be as extreme as the images from the Abu Ghraib probe, but defense officials warn they may provoke an angry backlash...

Pentagon Will Fill Civilian Jobs in Afghanistan

Reservists to fill up to 300 positions intended for nonmilitary experts

(Newser) - The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times. The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies...

In Afghan Ambush, the War in Microcosm

(Newser) - The Korangal riverbed had become a kill zone. The American soldiers had crossed after a friendly handshake with a local elder, only to have a bomb explode when the lead squad reached the opposite side. Taliban fighters rained bullets on a second squad exposed in the riverbed, while a third...

Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio
 Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio 
Apr 18, 2009 6:00 AM CDT

Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio

Extremist websites, radio stations to be jammed as part of new strategy

(Newser) - Forcing Radio Taliban off the air is a key part of the Pentagon's new Afghanistan strategy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Military communications experts are working to jam the websites and unlicensed radio stations extremists in Afghanistan in Pakistan use to proclaim their power, intimidate residents, plan attacks, and broadcast...

Afghanistan Changing 'Legalized Rape' Law

Afghan prez says he hadn't been aware law was on the books

(Newser) - Afghanistan will revise a law that critics say legalizes marital rape, President Hamid Karzai tells CNN. Karzai said he was unaware of the provision, part of a 270-page piece of legislation covering the country's 6 million Shiite Muslims. "Now I have instructed, in consultation with clergy of the country,...

Dozens Feared Dead in Afghan Quakes

Hundreds of houses destroyed as twin quakes hit remote eastern region

(Newser) - Two strong earthquakes killed at least 22 people in eastern Afghanistan early today and authorities fear many more bodies are in the rubble, reports Reuters. A 5.5 magnitude earthquake before dawn was followed by a 5.1 aftershock two hours later. Hundreds of mud-brick houses have collapsed in remote...

Crowd Attacks Afghan Women Protesting New Marriage Laws

(Newser) - A group of some 1000 Afghans today swarmed a demonstration of 300 women in Kabul protesting a new conservative marriage law. The women were pelted with small stones as police struggled to keep the two groups apart. The law, passed last month, says a husband can demand sex from his...

Old-School Diplomacy Sinks in 'Age of Pirates'

US faces leaders not 'ready' or 'able' to talk things out

(Newser) - The Obama administration wants to talk to countries like Afghanistan and North Korea—but you can’t make a deal with leaders who aren’t ready or able to make one, Thomas Friedman writes in the New York Times. The US is trying to employ classic diplomacy in an “...

Taliban Execute Young Couple for Eloping

Afghan clerics accuse them of 'immoral acts,' order firing squad

(Newser) - The Taliban executed a young couple in front of a firing squad for trying to elope in a lawless, militant-controlled region of southern Afghanistan, officials said today. The woman, 19, and the man, 21, were accused by the militants of immoral acts, and a council of conservative clerics decided that...

Defiant Ahmadinejad Blasts US, UN
 Defiant 
 Ahmadinejad 
 Blasts US, UN 
interview
Apr 12, 2009 10:01 AM CDT

Defiant Ahmadinejad Blasts US, UN

In lengthy interview, Iranian Prez gives his opinions on Obama, Iraq, Europe

(Newser) - The diminutive leader of Iran has a big ego and is a big talker: in a lengthy interview with Der Spiegel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talked a lot—about his feelings for President Obama, his beef with Iraq, and other international issues—but in the end, avoided answering many of the...

Attacks on Aid Workers Hit Record in 2008

It's more dangerous to distribute aid than fight as a UN peacekeeper

(Newser) - A shocking number of fatal attacks on international aid workers made 2008 the most dangerous year yet to perform such work, Reuters reports. Last year, 260 workers were attacked on the job, 122 fatally; the majority were working in Somalia, Darfur, or Afghanistan. The Center on International Cooperation’s study...

For Afghan Success, Look to Colombia
 For Afghan Success, 
 Look to Colombia 
OPINION
Apr 5, 2009 11:11 AM CDT

For Afghan Success, Look to Colombia

Countries face similar troubles—and Colombians know how to fix them

(Newser) - When President Obama reviewed US strategy in Afghanistan, the lessons of Iraq were key. But a better comparison might be Colombia, where parallels abound—and where the government has handled insurgents with a fair bit of success, writes Scott Wilson in the Washington Post. Both Afghanistan and Colombia have faced...

Karzai Demands Review of 'Home Rape' Law

(Newser) - Pressure from British and German leaders over legalized rape in Afghanistan has pushed President Hamid Karzai to order a review of a law governing Shiites, Reuters reports. Karzai said the Justice Ministry would scrutinize the Shiite Personal Status Law and send it back to parliament if necessary. But he said...

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