Afghanistan war

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US to Evacuate Translators This Month

Bush says he fears for Afghan women and girls

(Newser) - The Biden administration said Wednesday that it is prepared to begin evacuation flights for Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the US military effort in the nearly 20-year war. The Operation Allies Refuge flights out of Afghanistan in the last week of July will be available first for special immigrant...

Taliban Go After Air Force By Assassinating Its Pilots

Afghan military pilots are being tracked down in their neighborhoods

(Newser) - The Taliban have been rolling through Afghanistan on the ground as US forces leave, seizing territory sometimes without resistance. But Afghanistan's government still has a tactical advantage, something it has that the Taliban don't: an air force. In an apparent campaign to eliminate that advantage, Taliban forces have...

Taliban: We Now Control Almost All of Afghanistan

Group says it has 85% of territory amid American withdrawal

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistan's territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout. The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior Taliban delegation to Moscow this week—...

Biden Poses Question to Critics of Afghan Strategy

'How many more thousands of American daughters and sons are you willing to risk?'

(Newser) - President Biden on Thursday said the US military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, adding that “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war, per the AP . “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in...

US Left Bagram Without Notifying New Commander

3.5M items were left behind at Afghanistan base

(Newser) - The US left Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base's new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans' departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said. The US announced Friday...

After Nearly 2 Decades, US Exits Bagram Airfield

Hands it over to Afghans as it works to end 'forever war'

(Newser) - After nearly 20 years, the US military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two US officials said Friday. The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force...

A &#39;Patriot&#39; and a &#39;Killer&#39;: Rumsfeld in 4 Takes
Donald Rumsfeld
Had a 'Curse'
OPINION
Jul 1, 2021 1:01 PM CDT

Donald Rumsfeld Had a 'Curse'

'People assumed he was responsible for everything,' writes Matt Latimer

(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld was no stranger to controversy, and that remains the case even in death , with debates raging over his legacy. Four takes:
  • A 'patriot': "[We] learned a great deal listening to him," writes the editorial board at the Wall Street Journal , describing Rumsfeld as "a
...

After Almost 20 Years, Last German Troops Leave Afghanistan

150K have served there since 2001

(Newser) - Germany's last troops left Afghanistan Tuesday after a nearly 20-year deployment in the country, the defense minister said. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer tweeted that the last Bundeswehr soldiers “left Afghanistan safely” Tuesday evening. She thanked the more than 150,000 troops who have served there since 2001 and...

Report: US Won't Pull 100% of Troops From Afghanistan

Those who stay will provide security for diplomats, sources tell AP

(Newser) - Roughly 650 US troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks, US officials tell the AP . In addition, several hundred additional American forces will remain...

Hostage May End Up Left Behind as US Withdraws

Mark Frerichs was captured by Taliban last year

(Newser) - American contractor Mark Frerichs was seized in Kabul 17 months ago—and with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan picking up speed, his relatives fear he will be left behind. Special operations forces who could carry out a rescue operation if the 58-year-old were to be located will be gone from...

In Photos, Soldiers Drink From Dead Man's Prosthetic Leg

Lawyers say hundreds of photos exist

(Newser) - Images of of Australian soldiers drinking from what was allegedly a dead Afghan's prosthetic leg in an unauthorized bar called the Fat Lady's Arms may play a big role in an upcoming trial. Lawyers for former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith say they are still working to process hundreds of...

US Trashes Leftover Gear, Angering Afghan Scrap Dealers

Even the most innocuous items were cut to bits before being sold

(Newser) - The twisted remains of several all-terrain vehicles leaned precariously inside Baba Mir’s scrap yard, alongside smashed shards that were once generators, tank tracks that have been dismantled into chunks of metal, and mountains of tents reduced to sliced up fabric. It’s all US military equipment, per the AP...

It's a Milestone Day for America's Longest War

Saturday is formal start of the withdrawal of the last troops from Afghanistan

(Newser) - The final phase of ending America's “forever war” in Afghanistan after 20 years formally began Saturday. President Biden previously set May 1 as the official start of the withdrawal of the remaining forces—about 2,500-3,500 US troops and about 7,000 NATO soldiers. They are due...

Biden: 'It's Time to End the Forever War'

Afghanistan war was never meant to be a 'multigenerational undertaking'

(Newser) - President Biden confirmed Wednesday that he will not be taking the Afghanistan war into its third decade. "It's time to end the forever war," he said in a speech from the Treaty Room of the White House, which CNN notes is the same room in which George...

Biden Sets a Noteworthy Date for Afghan Withdrawal

Troops to be out by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of attacks

(Newser) - The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is this September, and President Biden has decided US troops will be out of Afghanistan by then. Biden plans to make the announcement Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. President George W. Bush launched the invasion after the 9/11 attacks, and President Trump signed...

Taliban Says It's Not Ready for Peace Talks

Time is running out on US withdrawal deadline

(Newser) - A Taliban spokesman said Monday the religious militia won’t attend a peace conference tentatively planned for later this week in Turkey, putting US efforts to get a peace plan anytime soon in jeopardy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said he wanted to see a peace agreement between Afghanistan’...

Austin Travels, Unannounced, to Afghanistan for Talks

Defense secretary, Ghani meet after Biden said withdrawal date would be tough to meet

(Newser) - With the scheduled May 1 withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan approaching, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin flew unannounced to Kabul on Sunday for talks, saying the US wants "a transition to something else." In the first visit by a member of the Biden administration, Austin met with...

Biden Confirms What He Thinks of Putin

A killer? 'Mmm hmm'

(Newser) - President Biden says that it will be "tough" for the US to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The deadline to end America's longest war six weeks from now was set under an agreement reached by former President Trump and the Taliban, without the...

Report: Elite Australian Troops Killed Dozens of Civilians

19 soldiers could face charges in Afghanistan killings

(Newser) - A shocking Australian military report into war crimes has found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers, and civilians. Australian Defence Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said Thursday the shameful record included alleged instances in which new patrol members would shoot a prisoner in order to...

NATO Chief Responds to Trump's Troop Cuts

ISIS could take advantage of the vacuum in Afghanistan, secretary-general says

(Newser) - President Trump's plan to reduce US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq in the next two months drew a warning Tuesday from NATO. "The price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high," said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, per the BBC . He said Afghanistan...

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