Afghanistan

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Europe Offers Afghan Help, But No Combat Troops

(Newser) - President Obama today hailed "concrete commitments" from NATO allies for the fight in Afghanistan, though Europe spurned his request for more combat troops, the AP reports. Instead, allies approved 3,000 temporary deployments to provide security for elections, and another 2,000 or so troops to provide police and...

Obama, Sarko Pledge United Front

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy and President Obama pledged cooperation today on a host of international issues, from Afghanistan to Iranian nukes, the AP reports. “It feels really good to work with a US president who wants to change the world,” said Sarkozy at their press conference. It’s a “...

IED Casualties in Afghanistan Soaring

75% of coalition deaths result from roadside explosives

(Newser) - Improvised roadside bombs caused 75% of all casualties among coalition forces in Afghanistan in the first two months of this year, up from 50% two years ago, reports USA Today. The rate of casualties from IEDs is also higher than at any time in Iraq, calling for urgent pleas for...

Afghan Detainees Have Right to US Courts: Judge

(Newser) - A federal judge overruled both the Bush and the Obama administrations today, declaring that prisoners held at a military base in Afghanistan can challenge their detention in US civilian courts, the New York Times reports. The prisoners deserve the same right that the Supreme Court granted to Gitmo detainees last...

Afghan Insurgency Growing Stronger: Petraeus

(Newser) - Gen. David Petraeus said today that militant insurgents in Afghanistan are growing in strength but will be fought "relentlessly and aggressively" by bolstered American troops. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan said the United States would take the fight...

US, Iran Have 'Cordial' Chat in the Hague

Holbrooke, Iranian foreign minister will 'stay in touch': Clinton

(Newser) - Meeting in the Hague today, leading diplomats from the US and Iran had a “brief and cordial exchange,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. In the Netherlands for 70-country talks on Afghanistan, US envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke and Iran’s deputy foreign minister plan to “stay...

Critics: Afghan 'Home Rape' Law Worse Than Taliban

Wives can't refuse sex in Karzai nod to right

(Newser) - Critics are blasting a new law in Afghanistan that forbids a woman to refuse sex with her husband or to leave home without his permission, reports the Guardian. The law, opposed by the UN, is viewed as a major step backward for women in a nation whose constitution supports equal...

Gates Stakes His Claim Under a New President
Gates Stakes His Claim Under a New President
ANALYSIS
Mar 31, 2009 7:40 AM CDT

Gates Stakes His Claim Under a New President

Defense secretary earns Obama's trust on Afghanistan-Pakistan

(Newser) - In 2008, under another president, Robert Gates spent 115 days traveling to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and 23 other countries. But this year, writes the New York Times, the defense secretary has been spending much more time in Washington. Gates, the only holdover from the Bush Cabinet, has slowly secured a...

Wills Wants to Be a Real Soldier

Nightclub confession also touches on Harry's split with Chelsy

(Newser) - It may seem like England's Prince William has it all, but the News of the World is reporting that the 26-year-old is jealous of his brother's chance to serve in Afghanistan. An undercover reporter says he got the prince to open up at a party, reports the AFP, but a...

Geithner on AIG: 'We Had No Good Choices'
Geithner on AIG: 'We Had No Good Choices'
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Mar 29, 2009 10:53 AM CDT

Geithner on AIG: 'We Had No Good Choices'

Gates backs Obama on Afghanistan; Petraeus says Cheney wrong

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner may have reignited the AIG bonus brouhaha on ABC’s This Week just as calls for his ouster had begun to subside. “We had no good choices. The contracts were set,” he said, insisting Treasury acted quickly to renegotiate the parts of the bonuses it could....

US, Iran Meet in Moscow on Afghanistan Peace

Officials talk terror, drug trafficking

(Newser) - American and Iranian officials gathered in Moscow for Afghanistan peace talks, highlighting a warming of US-Tehran relations under President Obama, reports the Times of London. “We’ve turned a page to have Iranians and Americans at the same table all discussing Afghanistan,” said Russia’s foreign minister at...

Don't Believe the Hype: Afghanistan's Fixable

US position in the country far different from previous foreign powers'

(Newser) - We hear plenty of doom and gloom about Afghanistan, the so-called “graveyard of empires” that defeated the Brits way back when and kicked out the Soviets in 1989. But the naysayers are forgetting all that’s working in favor of the US, writes Peter Bergen in the New York ...

Intense Debate Led to Obama Afghan Compromise

Biden warned against being dragged into political, military quagmire

(Newser) - President Obama's new Afghan strategy was forged after intense debate among advisers, reports the New York Times, with VP Joe Biden being the voice of caution, warning against being dragged into a quagmire there. All advisers agreed that the goal should narrow to tackling al-Qaeda, rather than Bush-style nation-building. But...

Main Threat to Obama's Afghan Plan: Obama's Afghan Plan

Middle-ground strategy on militants not realistic

(Newser) - President Obama could be undermining his own strategy to combat militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, David Cloud writes for Politico. The strategy—increase the number of US troops but also draw greater support from allies—“keeps the US committed but not too committed,” says Cloud, questioning if the...

Obama Rolls Out Afghan Plan: 'Al-Qaeda Must Be Stopped'

(Newser) - President Obama laid out the government's new strategy for Afghanistan today, declaring that the US must “disrupt, defeat, and dismantle” al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Obama will send another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan, on top of the 17,000 already approved. He also announced plans to work with regional...

Brooks: We Can Win in Afghanistan
 Brooks: 
 We Can Win in Afghanistan 
OPINION
Mar 27, 2009 7:57 AM CDT

Brooks: We Can Win in Afghanistan

(Newser) - David Brooks has always been skeptical of our efforts in Afghanistan, “one of the poorest, least-educated and most-corrupt nations on earth,” and his recent six-day tour of the country reinforced "every element" of his skepticism. But the columnist also emerged “infected by the optimism of the...

Pakistani, Afghan Taliban Unite Against US

Commanders agree to settle differences to counter US surge

(Newser) - Pakistan's Taliban leaders have pledged to scale back their battle against the government to help their Afghan counterparts fight the US surge, the New York Times reports. The leaders issued a statement promising to settle their internal differences to "bring dishonor on the infidels" after a visit from a...

US Afghan Plan: 4K More Troops, Help From Iran

(Newser) - When President Obama unveils his strategy for Afghanistan tomorrow, he will for the first time ask Iran to help bring peace to the region, Marc Ambinder writes for the Atlantic. Obama may not mention Iran by name, but he will ask neighboring nations to form a group to mediate disputes...

Post 9/11, Highest Military Honor Grows Scarce

The highest military award has gone to only five—and all posthumously

(Newser) - The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced only five recipients of the Medal of Honor, all of whom died as a result of their heroism, the Military Times reports. Pentagon stinginess with the highest military honor in the post-9/11 era frustrates service members who say a politicized, stringent, and...

US Takes Charge in Afghanistan
 US Takes Charge in Afghanistan 
Mar 26, 2009 9:32 AM CDT

US Takes Charge in Afghanistan

With troop increase, US resources in country tower over NATO's

(Newser) - As President Obama sends 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan—making American service members two-thirds of the foreign force there—the US is taking a firmer grip on the country’s reins, the Washington Post reports. America’s civilian presence in the country is also growing by at least half,...

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