Afghanistan

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Pentagon to Send 30K New Troops to Afghanistan

Heartland strategy seeks to cut off Taliban's supply of fighters, drug money

(Newser) - US commanders are finalizing plans to beat back the resurgent Taliban with tens of thousands of extra American troops in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports. As part of Barack Obama's emerging strategy, reinforcements will be deployed in rural areas where Kabul's grip is weak, including along the border with...

Taliban Wrecks Key Afghanistan Supply Bridge

Deliveries cut off after Pakistan attack; how long remains unclear

(Newser) - Taliban militants have blown up a bridge along the NATO supply route across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, halting deliveries to troops, the New York Times reports. Repairs are under way on the Khyber Pass bridge, but it’s not yet clear how long it will be before supply efforts resume. Militants...

Al-Qaeda 'Decimated' in Pakistan: US Officials

(Newser) - CIA-directed air raids into Pakistan have “decimated” al-Qaeda’s senior leadership, killing up to a dozen high-level targets, senior US military officials tell NPR. They say a “complete al-Qaeda defeat” there is now entirely possible. “The enemy is really, really struggling,” says one official. “These...

NATO Chief OKs Attacks on Afghan Drug Producers

(Newser) - NATO's top commander has authorized coalition troops “to attack directly drug producers and facilities throughout Afghanistan,” saying they “are inextricably linked to the Opposing Military Forces,” Der Spiegel reports. The order from US General John Craddock is not going over well with commanders on the ground....

How to Fix Afghanistan
 How to Fix Afghanistan 
OPINION
Feb 2, 2009 11:44 AM CST

How to Fix Afghanistan

Four ways to improve strategy in misdirected war

(Newser) - The war in Afghanistan is going poorly, but there’s still time for the US to hone its strategy, Fareed Zakaria writes in Newsweek. We must keep in mind our chief aim, well-put by Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists...

Afghan Bomber Kills 21 Cops
 Afghan Bomber Kills 21 Cops 
Feb 2, 2009 6:39 AM CST

Afghan Bomber Kills 21 Cops

Suicide bomber disguised himself as police reservist

(Newser) - A suicide bomber blew himself up inside an Afghan police station, killing at least 21 policemen in an attack claimed by the Taliban, reports the BBC. The attack in the south of the country is the deadliest in months. A police spokesman in Uruzgan said the bomber wore a police...

Many US Troops Home in a Year: Obama

President sees Iraqis ready to handle own security

(Newser) - President Obama promised today to bring a "substantial" number of troops home from Iraq before next year's Super Bowl, MSNBC reports. In an interview with Matt Lauer, Obama said Iraq's smooth provincial elections this weekend ensured the homecoming. He disclosed no details, but said he plans to “roll...

Afghanistan: the Next Vietnam?
 Afghanistan: the Next Vietnam?  
analysis
Feb 1, 2009 5:49 PM CST

Afghanistan: the Next Vietnam?

(Newser) - Afghanistan may not be Barack Obama's Vietnam—it may be worse, John Barry and Evan Thomas write in Newsweek. The president plans to double US troops there to 60,000, hoping Gen. David Patraeus can recreate "surge" success and train an Afghan army to stabilize the country. But...

'War on Terror' Phrase Fading Under Obama

Phrase on the skids as prez hopes to rewrite US-Muslim relations

(Newser) - Barack Obama is rephrasing the "war on terror," the AP reports. As campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan continue—as do broader US efforts to hunt down extremists—Obama is apparently letting the Bush catchphrase go out of style. The new president instead invokes  “ongoing struggle” and “...

Afghan Elections Delayed; Opponents Call Move Illegal

Karzai opponents call delay illegal, vow to stop recognizing his authority

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s May presidential election will be delayed until August, officials said today, in a decision that appears to contradict the country's constitution. The Afghan election commission said it needed more time to register candidates, set up voting machinery, and ensure security, the New York Times reports, but that didn’...

War, Not Nation-Building, Will Be Obama's Top Afghan Goal

Objectives could strain, even break, US ties with President Karzai

(Newser) - In a departure from Bush policies, the Obama administration intends to ramp up military operations in Afghanistan at the expense of reconstruction, the New York Times reports, shifting the burden of civil work to NATO allies. “If we set ourselves the objective of creating some sort of Central Asian...

Hackers Zap Kyrgyz Internet
 Hackers Zap Kyrgyz Internet 
Jan 28, 2009 5:21 AM CST

Hackers Zap Kyrgyz Internet

Latest Russian assault in cyber warfare

(Newser) - A Russian "cyber-militia" has shut down access to the Internet in Kyrgyzstan, the Wall Street Journal reports. Service providers in the former Soviet republic have been swamped with traffic during the past several days, in a denial of service attack that has downed websites and crippled email delivery. Motivations...

US Confused by Afghan Mercenaries
US Confused
by Afghan Mercenaries
Jan 27, 2009 8:36 AM CST

US Confused by Afghan Mercenaries

Blackwater-style private security guards may answer to militants

(Newser) - It’s becoming harder to keep gun-wielding men straight in Afghanistan. Private security firms have cropped up all over, the Wall Street Journal reports, hired to protect businesses, particularly those doing work for the US. But coalition troops often can’t tell such groups apart from militants, and have been...

Karzai Blames US in 16 Civilian Deaths

(Newser) - President Hamid Karzai condemned a US operation he said killed 16 Afghan civilians today, even as his Ministry of Defense sent Washington a draft agreement that seeks to give Afghanistan more oversight over US military operations. The increased rhetoric comes as hundreds of villagers denounced the American military during an...

US Airstrikes Signal Tough Approach in Pakistan

(Newser) - US airstrikes on suspected terrorist camps in Pakistan yesterday signal that the Obama administration will continue the aggressive US strategy against extremists in the region, the Washington Post reports. In fact, early signs suggest a tougher approach—and less patience—with the Pakistani government. The attacks, carried out by Predator...

For Afghanistan, Obama Looks Beyond Karzai

Washington loses patience, courts rivals as election looms

(Newser) - Four key rivals of Hamid Karzai have arrived in Washington for meetings with the Obama administration, as speculation grows that the Afghan president may lose the backing of the United States. Once seen as America's best hope in Afghanistan, Karzai has seen his standing deteriorate as widespread corruption and worsening...

Mitchell, Holbrooke Named Special Envoys

Former senator gets Mideast portfolio; ex-ambassador Afghanistan and Pakistan

(Newser) - President Obama and newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton moved quickly today to build the administration’s diplomatic efforts, naming George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke special envoys, Reuters reports; both appointments were expected. Former Sen. Mitchell will focus on facilitating peace talks between Israel and Palestine, while ex-UN ambassador...

McGovern to Obama: Call 'Time-Out on War'

War not the best solution to terrorism, ex-candidate argues

(Newser) - George McGovern would like to take the “war” out of the war on terror. The 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, writing in the Washington Post, cautions President Obama against diving headlong into Afghanistan, a battleground that has broken two empires already. “Let me suggest a truly audacious hope for...

In Afghanistan, Taliban Control the Countryside

As Obama mulls more troops, NATO gaps give insurgents free rein

(Newser) - Barack Obama has signaled that he will send 20,000 to 30,000 new American troops to join NATO forces in Afghanistan. It certainly won't hurt, reports Dexter Filkins in the New York Times. Troops are stretched so thin that, more than 7 years after the initial invasion, the Taliban...

Unbowed by Attack, Afghan Girls Return to School

School thrives despite horrific assault

(Newser) - Last November in Kandahar, the southern Afghan city in the grip of the Taliban, 15 students and teachers were sprayed with acid on their way to a girls' school. The attack was the culmination of a Taliban-supported campaign to keep women from education, but the girls and their teachers have...

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