Afghanistan war – News Stories About Afghanistan war - Page 52

Feb 16, 2009 11:07 AM CST

Obama Takes Time on Troop Decisions

Unlike his predecessor.

(Newser) - Barack Obama is resisting pressure from the Pentagon to swiftly approve a major shift of forces to Afghanistan, Politico reports. For weeks officials have been predicting the new president would, within days, OK the request for 10,000 more troops. Instead Obama has insisted on a methodical strategic review, debating...

Pentagon
May End
Media Ban
on War Dead

Feb 11, 2009 12:07 PM CST

Pentagon May End Media Ban on War Dead

Policy under review

(Newser) - Robert Gates has asked the Pentagon to review its policy of barring the media from photographing the coffins of military casualties returning to the US from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports. “I think, if the needs of the families can be met and the privacy concerns can...

Obama Challenges Troop Surge in Afghanistan

Feb 8, 2009 6:52 AM CST

Obama Challenges Troop Surge in Afghanistan

Asks for clear strategy before sending more troops

(Newser) - President Obama has called for a review of the planned deployment of up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a nation that some fear will become his “Vietnam,” the Times of London reports. Some 17,000 more troops were poised to head there last week, but defense...

Lieberman: 5 Surges
for Afghanistan

OPINION

Feb 6, 2009 12:12 PM CST

Lieberman: 5 Surges for Afghanistan

Senator outlines plan to empower moderate Muslims, win war

(Newser) - It’s going to be a difficult slog, bound to get worse before it gets better, but we must win the war in Afghanistan, writes Joe Lieberman in the Wall Street Journal. If we follow his prescriptions, he writes, we can empower moderates and make Afghanistan an al-Qaeda “graveyard”...

Kyrgyzstan
Calls Closure of US Base 'Final'

Feb 6, 2009 7:27 AM CST

Kyrgyzstan Calls Closure of US Base 'Final'

Russia offers help to US with transport to Afghanistan

(Newser) - The decision to close an American air base in Kyrgyzstan was "final," the Kyrgyz government said today, contradicting claims from Washington that discussions are ongoing. The Manas Air Base is a vital stopover for US and NATO flights to Afghanistan, but this week Kyrgyzstan suddenly decided to shutter...

Army Suicides in January Surpass Combat Deaths

Feb 5, 2009 2:47 PM CST

Army Suicides in January Surpass Combat Deaths

(Newser) - As many as 24 US Army soldiers took their own lives in January, an enormous rise over previous years, the Army Times reports. The deaths of seven soldiers have been confirmed as suicides, while 17 pending cases will likely get the same designation, the AP reports. If that happens, the...

Russia Wants to Help US
on Afghanistan: Medvedev

Feb 4, 2009 3:24 PM CST

Russia Wants to Help US on Afghanistan: Medvedev

But fate of US air base in Kyrgyzstan remains unknown

(Newser) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today offered “full-fledged” cooperation with the US in the fight against terrorism, the AP reports, one day after Kyrgyzstan said it would close a base crucial to American-led operations in Afghanistan. It was unclear if Russia might propose concessions in return for continued access to...

Pentagon to Send
30K New Troops
to Afghanistan

Feb 4, 2009 2:14 AM CST

Pentagon to Send 30K New Troops to Afghanistan

Heartland strategy seeks to cut off Taliban's supply of fighters, drug money

(Newser) - US commanders are finalizing plans to beat back the resurgent Taliban with tens of thousands of extra American troops in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports. As part of Barack Obama's emerging strategy, reinforcements will be deployed in rural areas where Kabul's grip is weak, including along the border with...

Taliban Wrecks
Key Afghanistan
Supply Bridge

Feb 3, 2009 8:17 AM CST

Taliban Wrecks Key Afghanistan Supply Bridge

Deliveries cut off after Pakistan attack; how long remains unclear

(Newser) - Taliban militants have blown up a bridge along the NATO supply route across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, halting deliveries to troops, the New York Times reports. Repairs are under way on the Khyber Pass bridge, but it’s not yet clear how long it will be before supply efforts resume. Militants...

How to Fix Afghanistan

OPINION

Feb 2, 2009 11:44 AM CST

How to Fix Afghanistan

Four ways to improve strategy in misdirected war

(Newser) - The war in Afghanistan is going poorly, but there’s still time for the US to hone its strategy, Fareed Zakaria writes in Newsweek. We must keep in mind our chief aim, well-put by Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists...

Afghan Bomber Kills 21 Cops

Feb 2, 2009 6:39 AM CST

Afghan Bomber Kills 21 Cops

Suicide bomber disguised himself as police reservist

(Newser) - A suicide bomber blew himself up inside an Afghan police station, killing at least 21 policemen in an attack claimed by the Taliban, reports the BBC. The attack in the south of the country is the deadliest in months. A police spokesman in Uruzgan said the bomber wore a police...

US Confused
by Afghan Mercenaries

Jan 27, 2009 8:36 AM CST

US Confused by Afghan Mercenaries

Blackwater-style private security guards may answer to militants

(Newser) - It’s becoming harder to keep gun-wielding men straight in Afghanistan. Private security firms have cropped up all over, the Wall Street Journal reports, hired to protect businesses, particularly those doing work for the US. But coalition troops often can’t tell such groups apart from militants, and have been...

Karzai Blames US
in 16 Civilian Deaths

Jan 25, 2009 1:56 PM CST

Karzai Blames US in 16 Civilian Deaths

(Newser) - President Hamid Karzai condemned a US operation he said killed 16 Afghan civilians today, even as his Ministry of Defense sent Washington a draft agreement that seeks to give Afghanistan more oversight over US military operations. The increased rhetoric comes as hundreds of villagers denounced the American military during an...

McGovern to Obama:
Call 'Time-Out on War'

OPINION

Jan 22, 2009 2:18 PM CST

McGovern to Obama: Call 'Time-Out on War'

War not the best solution to terrorism, ex-candidate argues

(Newser) - George McGovern would like to take the “war” out of the war on terror. The 1972 Democratic presidential nominee, writing in the Washington Post, cautions President Obama against diving headlong into Afghanistan, a battleground that has broken two empires already. “Let me suggest a truly audacious hope for...

In Afghanistan, Taliban Control the Countryside

Jan 22, 2009 6:47 AM CST

In Afghanistan, Taliban Control the Countryside

As Obama mulls more troops, NATO gaps give insurgents free rein

(Newser) - Barack Obama has signaled that he will send 20,000 to 30,000 new American troops to join NATO forces in Afghanistan. It certainly won't hurt, reports Dexter Filkins in the New York Times. Troops are stretched so thin that, more than 7 years after the initial invasion, the Taliban...

Europe Is
Giddy for US:
Can It Last?

analysis

Jan 20, 2009 7:07 PM CST

Europe Is Giddy for US: Can It Last?

French expect America to 'find its path' again

(Newser) - In France, the magic of Barack Obama’s inauguration is “a bit like the liberation after World War II,” says one French analyst. This particular sentiment “may have hit the hyperbolic stratosphere,” writes Elizabeth Bryant in the Washington Times, but it reflects a groundswell. “Fundamentally,...

Senate Likes Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

Jan 14, 2009 3:06 PM CST

Senate Likes Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

War, economy burden system former Army general would inherit

(Newser) - Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki garnered bipartisan support for his Veterans Affairs Secretary nomination today in outlining his priorities before Congress, the Military Times reports. The former Army chief of staff admitted to little experience with veterans issues, but his vows to streamline the agency won support from the likes of...

Obama Buying Time
With Afghan Surge

Jan 13, 2009 10:43 AM CST

Obama Buying Time With Afghan Surge

Measure more geared to buying time to revamp strategy on conflict

(Newser) - Barack Obama intends to sign off on a Pentagon plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports, but not because anyone believes this new “surge” will turn around the failing war effort. Obama’s team expects the move, which will nearly double US presence...

In Afghanistan, Biden Meets Troops, General, Prez

Jan 10, 2009 8:35 AM CST

In Afghanistan, Biden Meets Troops, General, Prez

VP-elect thanks soldiers for 'big, big' work

(Newser) - Joe Biden got word today in Afghanistan that thousands of new American troops expected in the country's south will need more helicopters and other support to beat back surging Taliban violence, the AP reports. Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham met with the head of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, Gen....

5 US Troops Killed in
Wave of Afghan Attacks

Jan 9, 2009 7:42 AM CST

5 US Troops Killed in Wave of Afghan Attacks

Including 5 American soldiers

(Newser) - Three American soldiers were killed today when their Humvee hit a roadside bomb in Southern Afghanistan, and two were killed yesterday, as a string of attacks took 18 lives in the country over the past two days. Earlier today a suicide bomber blew himself up in a fruit shop in...