Pakistan

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Obama May Boost Drones Instead of Troops

Shifting focus to Pakistan may avoid increasing forces

(Newser) - The White House is looking at expanding counterterror operations in Pakistan as an alternative to a major military escalation in Afghanistan, two senior officials tell the AP. The military would rely on armed drones that could contain al-Qaeda in a smaller, if more remote, area and keep its leaders from...

NYC Terror Suspect May Have al-Qaeda Ties After All

Zazi admits possible run-ins in Pakistan

(Newser) - The man federal officials are questioning in Denver over a terror plot in New York might in fact have some ties to al-Qaeda, the Times reports. After first denying any connections, Najibullah Zazi has told officials he could have come into contact with extremists in his native Pakistan, and there...

Pakistan Army Likely Behind Widespread Swat Killings

Military says deaths due to locals settling scores

(Newser) - Pakistan’s army took over the Swat Valley two months ago, ending Taliban control of the region—but lately, violence has swept the streets, with hundreds of bodies reportedly strewn about, the New York Times reports. The military says it’s a matter of revenge killings between locals, but human...

Taliban Surrenders in Swat
 Taliban Surrenders in Swat 
Sep 13, 2009 12:26 PM CDT

Taliban Surrenders in Swat

Maulana Fazlullah either surrounded or arrested as Pakistani offensive continues

(Newser) - A Taliban-controlled pirate radio station announced the militant group's surrender in the Swat Valley, after yet another key leader was said to have been arrested by the Pakistani military, the Telegraph reports. Though some reports claim that Maulana Fazlullah is surrounded by Pakistani forces, sources tell the Telegraph that he...

Pakistan Nabs Voice of Taliban in Swat Valley

(Newser) - Pakistani soldiers arrested the spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat Valley and four other commanders, striking the first direct blow against the leadership of the insurgency in the one-time tourist resort. The capture of spokesman Muslim Khan and the others could be a big blow to the Taliban's hopes...

Indian Politician Decries 'Racist' Skin Cream Ads

Lawmaker says whiteners send wrong message to Asians

(Newser) - An Indian lawmaker has lodged formal complaints against several advertisements for skin whitening cream, which she calls “completely racist and highly objectionable.” In one ad, for example, one man tells another that he’s unlucky “because of the color of your face” and hands him a tube...

Surge May Be Only Way to Keep US Safe From al-Qaeda

Remote-controlled strikes won't be enough to stop terrorists, say experts

(Newser) - The idea that al-Qaeda could be prevented from regaining a haven in Afghanistan without having American troops in the country is gaining support as the war drags on, but it's unlikely to work, many counterterrorism experts tell the New York Times. Terrorism can't be destroyed by airstrikes or Special Forces...

Kristol: George Will Is Wrong on Afghanistan

(Newser) - George Will’s call today to pull US troops out of Afghanistan is tantamount to “urging retreat and accepting defeat,” fellow conservative William Kristol blogs in the Washington Post. Will’s idea to focus mostly on offshore operations and airstrikes "doesn't sound much more engaged than US...

US Still Lacks Translators in Vital Languages

Intelligence, military officials often unable to read texts, emails

(Newser) - Nearly eight years have passed since 9/11, but national security agencies remain disturbingly low on translators for crucial dialects, the Washington Times reports. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives email and text-message each other freely in languages the CIA largely ignored before 2001. "I can't explain it,...

Taliban Finally Confirm Mehsud's Death

(Newser) - Weeks after a US drone reportedly took out the Taliban's leader in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud's fellow commanders have confirmed his death. Two Taliban officials—including his successor, Hakimullah Mehsud—tell the BBC that their leader actually died Sunday after being critically injured in the airstrike. The development also clears up...

Taliban Pick Young Leader to Replace Mehsud

But still insist old leader isn't dead

(Newser) - Despite their insistence that a US drone strike didn’t kill their leader, members of Pakistan’s Taliban movement have already replaced him, the BBC reports. Hakimullah Mehsud, a military chief in his late 20s, will succeed Baitullah Mehsud, a close ally reportedly killed earlier this month. The unanimous decision...

CIA Uses Blackwater to Help Run Drone Attacks

(Newser) - The CIA has relied on a secret division inside the company once known as Blackwater for its drone operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, private employees and government officials tell the New York Times. The for-profit company assembles and loads Hellfire missiles and quarter-ton bombs on secret CIA bases on both...

Top Militant Denies Taliban Shootout

Pakistan insists dead leader's aide killed in power struggle

(Newser) - Days after Pakistan's Taliban leader reportedly died in a US airstrike, conflicting stories are emerging about a power struggle in the militant group, the New York Times reports. Waliur Rehman, a commander who had wanted to lead the Taliban, denies killing a young aide to the former leader in a...

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...

Mehsud Is Alive, Says Fellow Commander

(Newser) - US and Pakistani officials say they're all but certain they killed Baitullah Mehsud, yet one of his fellow Taliban commanders says that's just a bunch of "ridiculous" propaganda. Mehsud, he insists to the BBC, is alive and will stay underground for a few days before issuing a public statement....

Officials: Taliban's Mehsud Is Dead

(Newser) - Pakistani officials have confirmed the death of Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban leader, in an American drone strike early Wednesday. While there is still no concrete evidence of his death, the country's foreign minister said today that "he has been taken out." One security official told the New ...

US Drone May Have Killed Taliban Leader Mehsud

(Newser) - Potentially big news out of Pakistan: A US drone may have killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, reports Reuters. "There is reason to believe that reports of his death may be true, but it can't be confirmed at this time," said an anonymous US official. Mehsud is an...

US Strike Kills Wife of Pakistan Taliban Chief

(Newser) - A US missile strike today in Pakistan's lawless tribal region killed a wife of Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban commander, the AP reports. Mehsud has been accused of orchestrating dozens of suicide attacks in Pakistan, including the assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The US, as usual, did...

Pakistan Muslims Torch Christian Houses; 6 Dead

Crowd avenges alleged Koran desecration

(Newser) - Six people are dead after Muslim protesters torched houses in a Christian neighborhood of Pakistan’s Gojra City yesterday, CNN reports. The demonstrators, who were protesting an alleged desecration of the Koran at a Christian wedding last weekend, set fire to between 40 and 50 houses. A crowd burned 15...

1 NC Jihadi Still at Large: Feds

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors said today that one member of a North Carolina group that sought to wage "violent jihad" is still at large. US Attorney George Holding says authorities hope to soon apprehend an eighth person described in an indictment unsealed yesterday. The person's name is redacted from court papers.

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