Hamid Karzai

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Afghans Vow Revenge for Soldier's Killing Spree

Latest tragedy plays into Taliban hands, experts fear

(Newser) - Afghan families are vowing vengeance for loved ones killed when an American soldier apparently went on a rampage, shooting at least 16 civilians dead, including nine children . "All my family is dead," Nazim Shah told the Independent. "We will get revenge on those who killed my family....

Obama: We'll Find 'Anyone Responsible' in Afghan Shooting

President calls alleged shooting of civilians 'tragic and shocking'

(Newser) - President Obama weighed in today with his own reaction to the 16 Afghans allegedly gunned down by one or more US soldiers, the AP reports. He called the killings "tragic and shocking" and promised "to get the facts as quickly as possible and to hold accountable anyone responsible....

Afghanistan on Brink Over US Soldier Killings

Reports vary, but murders could push US-Afghan relations to the brink

(Newser) - US and Afghan officials alike are scrambling in the wake of today's rampage that claimed the lives of 16 Afghan civilians , as relations between the two nations threaten to boil over. The latest reactions, along with emerging details:
  • Reuters has the most incendiary report, alleging that more than one
...

Indicted Afghan Banker Free, Playing Poker

He's exhibit A of Afghan corruption: New York Times

(Newser) - Sherkhan Farnood hosts an extraordinary poker game at his lavish Kabul home. The participants: Members of Hamid Karzai's inner circle. The stakes: Thousands of dollars, or more than most Afghan families make in a year. It's striking, because Farnood is supposed to be in jail and his assets...

US Inquiry Pins Koran Burning on 5 Soldiers

Still seen as accidental, though clerics want a trial, strict punishment

(Newser) - The US has completed its promised investigation into the Koran-burning incident at Bagram Air Force Base that plunged Afghanistan into turmoil last week, naming five soldiers as responsible for the debacle, the Washington Post reports. The US says the culprits will be disciplined, but insists the incident was an unfortunate...

Obama: My Koran Apology Calmed Tensions

Politics comes second to protecting troops, he says

(Newser) - Saying sorry to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the accidental burning of Korans by US troops helped calm tensions, President Obama says. "We're not out of the woods yet," he told ABC . "But my criteria in any decision I make, getting recommendations from folks who are...

Gingrich to Afghanistan: Live Your Own Miserable Life

'They've spent several thousand years hating foreigners,' says Newt

(Newser) - That's harsh. After blasting President Obama for apologizing for the burning of Korans at Bagram, Newt Gingrich now has some advice for Afghanistan: "Live your own miserable life." It's past time for America to quit that nation, Gingrich groused. We’re "not going to fix...

Rick Santorum: Obama Wrong to Apologize for Korans

Says Afghans are the ones who need to apologize

(Newser) - Afghanistan may still be seething over US troops who burned Korans last week, but Rick Santorum is joining those conservatives taking aim at President Obama's efforts to diffuse the situation. Speaking today on Meet the Press, Santorum slapped at the president's apology over the incident, saying he...

Afghans Lob Grenades at US Base, Clashes Continue

Karzai pleads for return to calm

(Newser) - Protesters angry over Korans burned by American troops tossed grenades at a US base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a sixth day of violence that left seven international troops wounded and two Afghans dead. "Tensions are running very high here and I think we...

Koran-Burning Protests Rage for a 4th Day

Gunfire heard as thousands take to streets in Kabul

(Newser) - Protesters are rallying once again to decry the burning of Korans at Bagram, with more shouts of "death to America"—and deaths—throughout the country. The New York Times reports that gunfire was audible as demonstrators assembled at a Kabul mosque following Friday prayers. Another 4,000 people...

Gingrich, Palin Blast Obama Apology for Koran Burning

Hamid Karzai should apologize for violence, says Newt

(Newser) - Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are trying to make President Obama sorry he apologized. Obama said he's sorry for an a "inadvertent" Koran-burning incident on a US military base in Afghanistan that has sparked days of rioting and resulted in the death of two American soldiers. But Gingrich...

US, Afghanistan, Taliban: Secret Talks Under Way

Hamid Karzai is in Pakistan today to discuss negotiations

(Newser) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Pakistan today, one day after telling the Wall Street Journal that his country has entered into three-way peace talks with the Taliban and the US. Karzai is in Pakistan to discuss the negotiations and request that country's help; Islamabad's cooperation is necessary,...

US Eyes Switch to Special Ops in Afghanistan

Focus to be on training, special missions, not policing

(Newser) - The United States may be wrapping up its combat operations in Afghanistan a year early, but the fight against insurgents and terrorists will continue in the form of US special forces, who are expected to stay in the country well after 2014, reports the New York Times . According to the...

US Starts Talks With Taliban
 US-Taliban Talks Stumble 
update

US-Taliban Talks Stumble

Afghan fighters oppose cease-fire proposed by Washington

(Newser) - Long-rumored talks between the US and Taliban officials just got started and are already faltering, MSNBC reports. Meeting in Qatar, Taliban representatives balked today at Washington's demand for a cease-fire before negotiating a prisoner swap. "Our stance is the same. We will announce a cease-fire when the...

Sarkozy Wants Out of Afghanistan Next Year

France will withdraw combat troops by the end of 2013

(Newser) - France and Afghanistan agree NATO should speed up by a year its timetable for handing all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said today, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance. Sarkozy also announced that all French combat troops will leave the...

Panetta Calls Karzai Over Marines' Video

Two of the four servicemen have been identified

(Newser) - The US went into full damage control mode today over a video that surfaced yesterday that appeared to show four Marines urinating on Taliban fighters' corpses . Leon Panetta called Hamid Karzai to decry the video, and he issued a statement calling the actions "entirely inappropriate," the Wall Street ...

US-Taliban Peace Talks Could Resume Within Weeks

Hamid Karzai just needs to give the OK

(Newser) - Peace talks between the US and the Taliban could resume within weeks, just as soon as Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives the go-ahead. The last tentative deal, which involved transferring five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay into Afghan custody, fell apart in December because Karzai would not cooperate, the Washington ...

Karzai to US: Hand Over Bagram Prison

Miffed Afghan president accuses US of human rights abuses

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai today demanded that the US give up control of its prison in Bagram by the end of the month, over what his office called "many cases of violations of Afghan Constitution … and human rights." It's a familiar demand—Afghan officials announced they had a...

Afghanistan Probes Teen Bride's Torture

Sahar Gul kept in in-laws' basement after refusing prostitution: police

(Newser) - Afghanistan's president has ordered an investigation following reports that a 15-year-old girl was locked in her in-laws' basement and tortured. Police say they rescued Sahar Gul last month after her parents said they hadn't seen her for months. The girl had been starved and "we saw her...

Kabul Demands Lead Role in Taliban Talks

Afghanistan wants no foreign influence in negotiations

(Newser) - Afghanistan today told foreign powers to take a back seat in talks with the Taliban and let Kabul lead the way, Reuters reports. Afghanistan's High Peace Council put its foot down after the US, Qatar, and Germany secretly set up an office for the Taliban in Qatar to continue...

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