Afghanistan war

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US Troop Count in Afghanistan Overtakes Iraq

100K US troops to be in Afghanistan by this summer

(Newser) - The number of US troops in Afghanistan has hit 94,000, for the first time surpassing the 92,000 currently deployed in Iraq. The milestone comes as the US prepares to reduce its number of personnel in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of August, the BBC reports. But...

US Troops Wooing Taliban Foot Soldiers

What Washington still debates, soldiers are implementing

(Newser) - As Washington debates reconciling with Taliban commanders, US Marines on the ground in Afghanistan are already welcoming Taliban foot soldiers back into the fold. Reintegration, a process in which militants swear before their tribal elders to renounce the Taliban, is playing a growing role in American efforts to win over...

Taliban Attack NATO's Bagram Base

Military: Bagram security 'not breached'

(Newser) - Seven US soldiers were wounded this morning as the Taliban staged a bold pre-dawn attack at one of the largest US bases in Afghanistan that also killed 10 insurgents. Though details are still murky, an American official told the New York Times that as many as 30 insurgents fought their...

US Deaths in Afghanistan Reach 1,000

Suicide bomber's attack in Kabul kills 5

(Newser) - A suicide attack in Kabul that killed five US troops today has brought the American death toll in the war to 1,000, reports the New York Times . In an extended look at the unwanted milestone, the Times notes that it took 7 years to reach the first 500 deaths...

Afghans Flee as Marjah Offensive Sours

US hasn't done a good job clearing or holding

(Newser) - Remember the big American military “clear and hold” operation in Marjah, Afghanistan? It ain't going so well. More than 150 families have fled the area, and some refugees tell the New York Times the Taliban is still running rampant, and the US is unable to protect the local population....

McChrystal: No One's Winning in Afghanistan

Taliban have lost momentum, says top US commanders

(Newser) - The good news is, the Taliban aren't winning in Afghanistan. The bad news is, nobody else is winning either, according to the top US commander in Afghanistan. The US has made some progress, however, and the insurgency has lost the momentum many believed it had gained a year ago, Gen....

Military May Give Medal for Avoiding Combat

Honor for not shooting would be unique

(Newser) - The US military is considering a medal for soldiers who show restraint in order to save civilian lives. The honor would celebrate "courageous restraint" in the line of duty—incidences in which soldiers hold their fire. While the idea of an award for not shooting might seem paradoxical, "...

Obama Open to Taliban Peace Talks

Karzai plan wins tentative support

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai has won some very tentative support from President Obama for his plan to try to make peace with Taliban leaders. At a joint press conference yesterday, Obama said when Karzai holds talks this summer, reintegration into Afghan society chould be on the table, the Los Angeles Times reports....

White House Rolls Out Red Carpet for Karzai

Afghan leader comes to DC for (likely strained) talks

(Newser) - When Hamid Karzai arrives in Washington today, he'll be met with smiles (through gritted teeth, perhaps) from Barack Obama. The administration has had a rocky relationship with Karzai—the trip was almost canceled after he publicly contemplated joining the Taliban—but Obama has ordered his aides to roll out the...

The New Addiction: War Porn
 The New Addiction: War Porn 
in case you missed it
May 8, 2010 1:45 PM CDT

The New Addiction: War Porn

Is watching the carnage a creepy pleasure, or a civic duty?

(Newser) - Combat footage from Iraq and Afghanistan has generated a new form of online porn, Newsweek reports, with tens of thousands of spliced-together clips—soundtracks added—drawing millions of views on YouTube, and enthusiasts creating sites with names like GotWarPorn.com. "Like sexual porn," writes Jessica Ramirez, "they...

The Military's Enemy Within: PowerPoint

It 'makes us stupid' one general charges

(Newser) - There's an enemy lurking inside the US military, and it's called PowerPoint. The presentation software has become more and more central to military procedure in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Pentagon, the New York Times reports and the effect has not been salutary. Junior officers are often referred to as “...

Karzai, White House Mend Fences; Visit On

Afghan president will travel to Washington next month as scheduled

(Newser) - The Obama administration and Hamid Karzai have buried the hatchet, and the Afghan president will visit Washington next month as scheduled, reports the Washington Post . The White House had threatened to call off the visit because of Karzai's recent shenanigans—including a vow to join the Taliban if Afghanistan's Western...

Taliban Leader Edges Closer to Peace Talks

Omar apparently no longer interested in ruling Afghanistan

(Newser) - Peace talks with the Taliban? The Times of London thinks it's a possibility after an interview with two liaisons of supreme leader Mullar Omar. The language is iffy—the story says Omar "indicated" that he "may be willing" to talk with western politicians—but an unnamed US military...

Korengal Valley's Toll Should Be Warning to US
Korengal Valley's Toll Should Be Warning to US
eugene robinson
Apr 16, 2010 9:53 AM CDT

Korengal Valley's Toll Should Be Warning to US

We're leaving it, but how many more will die before we quit Afghanistan?

(Newser) - The US decision to pull out of the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan is no doubt the smart thing to do, writes Eugene Robinson. After all, our troops spent 5 years there and gained only 3 miles at the cost of 42 lives. That kind of fighting in remote territory doesn't...

Obama Doubles Special Ops in Afghanistan

Administration fears time is running out to stop Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration has more than doubled the number of special forces in Afghanistan, tasking them with hunting down Taliban leaders—in part because it’s worried that the US has a dwindling window to defang the insurgency before its scheduled 2011 withdrawal, senior officials tell the LA Times . They’...

Civilian Contractor Deaths Soar in Afghanistan
 Civilian Contractor Deaths 
 Soar in Afghanistan 

contractors outstrip military
Apr 14, 2010 7:15 PM CDT

Civilian Contractor Deaths Soar in Afghanistan

In a first, support teams now outnumber soldiers

(Newser) - As the US ramps up its military presence in Afghanistan, life is becoming decidedly more dangerous for civilian contractors. Of the 289 killed there since the war started, 100 died in the last 6 months, reports ProPublica . And in what is apparently a first, the number of civilian workers (107,...

US Abandons Afghan Valley Where 42 Americans Died

Five-year Afghanistan battle deemed a mistake

(Newser) - The last US troops left Korengal Valley this morning, ending five years of seemingly pointless combat. Before dawn an American captain showed local village elders around what used to be the US base, the Washington Post reports, showing them the bullet-ridden crane and full fuel bladder they’d traded for...

Afghans Riot After US Troops Kill Bus Passengers

Civilian death spark outrage before Kandahar push

(Newser) - Anti-American riots swept Kandahar yesterday after American troops opened fire on a passenger bus, killing at least 4 civilians and wounding 18. Accounts of the incident—which deals a massive blow to NATO's hopes of winning over the local population before its upcoming offensive in the area—vary widely. NATO...

Karzai's the Best We've Got. Deal With It
Karzai's the Best We've
Got. Deal With It
Fareed Zakaria
Apr 12, 2010 8:36 AM CDT

Karzai's the Best We've Got. Deal With It

We need him to win the Afghanistan war, so grow up and stop undercutting him

(Newser) - Sure, Hamid Karzai is a "vain, mercurial, hypersensitive man" presiding over "a system that is massively corrupt." But the US still should—and must—learn to work with him, Fareed Zakaria writes in the Washington Post . There is no alternative to Karzai, Zakaria argues; if the US...

Crazy Karzai Regime Is 'Too Big to Fail'

Erratic Afghan leader understands how deep US is in, acts accordingly

(Newser) - The US is engaged in “asymmetrical” warfare with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Fred Kaplan writes, but it also suffers an asymmetrical relationship with an increasingly erratic head of state—Hamid Karzai. His regime “depends entirely on the United States,” sure, but because Western powers “have—and...

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