Afghanistan war

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US Could Buy Off the Taliban
 US Could Buy Off the Taliban 
analysis
Aug 14, 2009 6:23 PM CDT

US Could Buy Off the Taliban

(Newser) - The US war in Afghanistan is costing $4 billion a month and lacks a clear end-date—so why not just pay off the Taliban's hired guns to stop fighting? Analysts say the math makes sense: Taliban gunmen earn $10 a day. There are 10,000 to 15,000 of...

Marines Launch New Afghan Assault

(Newser) - US Marines battled Taliban fighters today for control of a strategic southern town in a new operation to cut militant supply lines and allow Afghan residents to vote in next week's presidential election. Insurgents appeared to dig in for a fight, firing rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds, and even missiles from...

US Commander: Taliban Winning Afghan War

McChrystal makes protecting civilians his first priority

(Newser) - The Taliban are winning the war in Afghanistan and the US must quickly change course, warns Stanley McChrystal, the general now commanding American forces in the country. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, McChrystal says he wants more troops in big, dangerous cities like Kandahar as part of...

Obama Sharpens Plan to Gauge Afghan Progress

(Newser) - Hoping to allay fears over Afghanistan, President Obama plans to show Congress a new system for measuring US progress there—and holding people accountable when goals fall short, Politico reports. The complex set of indicators will measure nine objectives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including "the proportion of the Afghan...

Soldier KIA, But Adopted Puppy Comes to America

He took in stray in Iraqi war zone

(Newser) - An Army major killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq has left a canine legacy—Laia, a stray puppy who made it back to America, the Los Angeles Times reports. Working on a transition team, Steven Hutchison found the dog loafing around his vehicle after a meeting. “Maj. Hutchison...

Roadside Bomb Kills 21 Afghan Civilians

(Newser) - A roadside bomb hit a wedding party on its way to a ceremony in southern Afghanistan, killing 21 people including women and children, Afghan officials said today. A local police chief said that a Western airstrike hours later killed five farmers loading cucumbers into a taxi in a neighboring province;...

Long Wars Fray Military Marriages

Brief homecomings make healing difficult

(Newser) - With the Iraq and Afghanistan wars dragging on, long, multiple deployments are taking a toll on military families, USA Today reports. Troops develop instincts on the battlefield that don’t translate at home, while spouses learn to live independently—and when troops return home, there’s often too little time...

US, Brits Press Plans for Taliban Talks

(Newser) - British commanders backed by US officials aim to use the success of recent offensives to persuade mid-level Taliban leaders to come in for talks and give up the fight, the Guardian reports. Conditions are right for the "second-tier" leaders who control large numbers of fighters in southern Afghanistan to...

US Will Stop Releasing Afghan Insurgent Body Count

(Newser) - The US will no longer publish tallies of the number of enemies killed in Afghanistan, CNN reports. The body counts send the wrong message, says the top US military spokesman for the coalition, who ordered the change. The war is supposed to be about protecting civilians, he noted, not killing...

Taliban Scarier Than Iraq Enemy
 Taliban Scarier Than Iraq Enemy 
Jul 26, 2009 4:52 AM CDT

Taliban Scarier Than Iraq Enemy

(Newser) - Taliban forces in Afghanistan are bolder, better organized, and more tenacious than the deadliest Iraqi insurgents, a war-hardened Marine told the New York Times. “In Iraq, they’d hit you and run,” said Sgt. Jacob Tambunga, who spent three tours fighting in Anbar Province. “But these guys...

US Afghan Surge Angers Pakistan

(Newser) - The American offensive in southern Afghanistan is sparking serious tensions with Pakistan, the New York Times reports. Pakistani officials fear that the surge will push Taliban militants into its border region, triggering a rise in militancy that it will be ill-equipped to tackle without shifting troops from the Indian border....

US Troop Deaths Pass 5K in Iraq, Afghanistan

Deadliest month so far in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The combined death toll among US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has passed 5,000, USA Today reports. The Pentagon says 4,332 have died in Iraq and 669 in Afghanistan. At least 30 American troops have died in Afghanistan in July, the deadliest month in the nearly 8-year-old war,...

Captured US Soldier May Be in Pakistan

Fox News 'expert' suggests that Taliban execute Bergdahl

(Newser) - The American soldier captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan may be in Pakistan, a potentially huge stumbling block in the quest to free the 23-year-old, ABC News reports. If the insurgent group that apparently kidnapped him has indeed moved Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl over the border to South Waziristan, the American...

Taliban Hostage's Hometown Stayed Quiet on Kidnapping

(Newser) - The Taliban's capture of an American soldier in Afghanistan is old news for some residents of his hometown, but they kept quiet out of concern for his safety, the AP reports. The family of Bowe R. Bergdahl asked neighbors and other community members in Hailey, Idaho, not to discuss his...

US Military Review Calls for Afghan Prison Changes

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s prison system, including the American-run Bagram facility, needs a complete overhaul, according to a new US military review. The current system, which has a dreadful reputation with both human rights advocates and Afghan civilians, houses radical inmates with more moderate prisoners. The offensive in the southern part of...

Pentagon IDs Soldier Caught by Taliban
Pentagon IDs Soldier Caught by Taliban
see taliban video
Jul 19, 2009 6:04 PM CDT

Pentagon IDs Soldier Caught by Taliban

He may have been visiting a woman when caught: officials

(Newser) - Pentagon officials have confirmed that Bowe Bergdahl, 23, is the captured US soldier seen this weekend in a Taliban video, ABC News reports. Bergdahl says in the video that he was caught after falling behind in a foot patrol, but Defense Department officials say he may have left his Paktika...

Gates: Public Won't Stand for 'Long Slog' in Afghanistan

Turnaround must happen within year

(Newser) - Americans aren’t going to put up with a ‘long slog’ in Afghanistan, says Robert Gates: if the public doesn’t see things getting better within a year, support for the war will likely falter, he tells the Los Angeles Times. “After the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared...

Taliban Threatens to Kill Captured American Soldier

(Newser) - The Taliban says it will execute a captured American soldier if the US does not withdraw from two districts in southeastern Afghanistan, the Voice of America reports. A Taliban rep said today the soldier is healthy but will be killed if operations in Paktika and Ghazni continue. The fate of...

After Rash of Deaths, UK Rethinks Afghanistan

(Newser) - Eight British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last week within just 24 hours, the worst day of casualties the UK had seen in 30 years. After 15 fatalities in July alone, Gordon Brown is facing severe criticism for underfinancing the war effort, particularly for not providing enough helicopters to troops,...

Afghanistan Troops Face Smarter, Fiercer IEDs

(Newser) - The war in Afghanistan is getting deadlier for both coalition troops and Afghan forces, reports James Dao in the New York Times, mostly because of an increase in homemade bomb attacks—465  in May alone. The IEDs—improvised explosive devices—are getting more sophisticated as well as more common, and...

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