Afghanistan war

Stories 781 - 800 | << Prev   Next >>

9K Marines to Lead Afghanistan Charge
 9K Marines to Lead 
 Afghanistan Charge 
obama's new strategy
Nov 29, 2009 6:04 AM CST

9K Marines to Lead Afghanistan Charge

They'll be deployed days after Obama outlines new war plan

(Newser) - Just days after Obama unveils his new Afghan war strategy, as many as 9,000 Marines will ready themselves to deploy to Afghanistan's Hemland province as part of phased reinforcements approach. They'll double the Marine force in a bloody southern region that has seen US gains but, due to a...

Teen Afghan Prisoners Claim Abuse at US Site

Say they were beaten, photographed naked at Bagram

(Newser) - Two Afghan teenagers held prisoner by the US at the Bagram air base say American interrogators beat them, deprived them of sleep, photographed them naked, and made them look at porn to humiliate them sexually. The teens' accounts to the Washington Post have not been substantiated, but they have the...

Roadside Bomb Strikes Afghan Gov's Convoy

Kandahar official survives attack on holiest Muslim holiday

(Newser) - The governor of Kandahar narrowly escaped death today when a roadside bomb exploded underneath his convoy. Turyalai Wesa was on his way to prayers on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the holiest holiday on the Muslim calendar. Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban, a violent Afghan hotspot, and...

Taliban Makes Surprise Return in N. Afghanistan

Kunduz thought secure enough to move troops elsewhere

(Newser) - With US and Afghan forces focused on the southern regions of Afghanistan, the Taliban has popped up in the country’s northern Kunduz province—not only far from its home area but until recently seen as peaceful enough that soldiers and policemen have been transferred from the area to help...

US Seeks 10K Allied Troops in Afghanistan

Grumbling nations only want to provide half

(Newser) - The US is struggling to convince its allies to commit 10,000 more troops to the war in Afghanistan, according to federal sources. Allied leaders are willing to provide only half that figure for an operation increasingly unpopular with their citizens, particularly amid concerns about corruption in the Afghan government....

Obama to Give Afghan Speech at West Point

Tuesday troop surge announcement comes as approval falters

(Newser) - President Obama will announce his decision to send 20,000 to 40,000 more troops to fight in Afghanistan in a speech to West Point cadets next Tuesday at 8pm. His remarks will outline a surge, but administration officials say the president is not making a case for an open-ended...

Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy
 Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy 
Analysis
Nov 25, 2009 9:26 AM CST

Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy

Slow decision on Afghanistan a contrast from Bush's gut checks

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s prolonged Afghanistan strategy review has if nothing else distinguished him from his predecessor—Obama is anything but the “gut player” Dubya claimed to be. In fact, he’s put on “a spectacle of deliberation unlike anything seen in the White House in recent memory,”...

Fresh Troops to Target Afghanistan's Troubled South

Kandahar key in coming Afghan surge

(Newser) - Though President Obama has yet to announce his plan for finishing the job in Afghanistan, military commanders say the bulk of the fresh troops—regardless of their number—will be sent to the country's volatile south to reverse Taliban gains, specifically targeting the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. The coming surge...

Afghan War May Sock Us With Surtax

House Dems propose 1% war tax

(Newser) - Any change in Afghan strategy that involves spending more money needs to come with a strategy to pay for it, warn House Democrats. Influential committee chairs are calling for a 1% surtax on incomes under $150,000 beginning in 2011 to pay for the war. Their proposed bill would impose...

Obama: I'll 'Finish the Job' in Afghanistan

President's troop decision expected this week

(Newser) - He didn't tip his hand on many troops it would take, but President Obama said today that he intends to "finish the job" in Afghanistan. He promised to unveil a strategy after Thanksgiving that will "dismantle and degrade” the enemy while making sure that "al Qaeda and...

Report: Obama Will Send 34K Troops to Afghanistan

Prez finalized decision last night, will address nation next week

(Newser) - President Obama has made his choice on Afghan strategy after months of deliberations and will announce it next week, administration sources tell McClatchy . The president finalized his decision to send another 34,000 troops in meetings last night, and plans to address the nation on the choice next Tuesday, prior...

4 US Troops Killed in Afghan Attacks

Death toll for month up to 15

(Newser) - Four US troops have been killed in southern and eastern Afghanistan in the last 24 hours. Three were killed by bombs yesterday and today, while a fourth was killed in a firefight. The casualties bring the death toll for the month to 15. October, when 58 US fighters were killed,...

Obama Approval Rating Dips Below 50%

Americans sour on handling of economy, Afghanistan

(Newser) - Less than half of Americans polled approve of President Obama’s performance for the first time. A new Quinnipiac survey has his job approval rating at 48%, with 42% disapproving. Other polls have his rating at 53% and 56%, and a Quinnipiac pollster admits the new number “is not...

In Afghanistan Debate, Obama Focuses on Exit
In Afghanistan Debate, Obama Focuses on Exit
Analysis
Nov 17, 2009 8:15 AM CST

In Afghanistan Debate, Obama Focuses on Exit

White House wants to make sure surge will enable handover

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s extended ruminations on an Afghan surge aren’t really over how many troops to send in—they’re about how they’ll get those troops out. Obama’s main problem with the initial military plan was that it seemed too open ended, administration sources tell Gerald...

Afghan Rocket Misses French General, Kills 3 Kids

Insurgents target marketplace meeting

(Newser) - A rocket attack intended for a French general instead killed three children and wounded 20 others in a busy market northeast of Kabul today. Insurgents fired into the marketplace hoping to hit a meeting between Brig. Gen. Marcel Druart and tribal elders from Tagab Valley, where France is in the...

Afghan Calculus: 40K Troops Equals $40B

High long-term costs a big factor in debate

(Newser) - When President Obama rejected advisers' recommendations on Afghan troops and insisted they be retooled with exit strategies, he had the war's long-term financial costs in mind, an insider tells the New York Times . While military strategy gets the headlines, the financial constraints also are weighing heavily. Some specfics:
  • Gen. McChyrstal's
...

Morale Down in Afghanistan: Army

One in six soldiers suffers from a psychological disorder

(Newser) - Morale is down and psychological problems rampant among troops in Afghanistan, who face a shortage of mental health professionals to help them deal with the stress of war. Only 5.7% of soldiers described their unit's moral as high or very high, down from 10.2% in 2007 and 10....

US to Karzai: Clean Up Corruption or ... Nothing
US to Karzai: Clean Up Corruption or ... Nothing
No Leverage dept.
Nov 12, 2009 11:59 AM CST

US to Karzai: Clean Up Corruption or ... Nothing

Threatening troop withdrawal like threatening suicide: 'stupid'

(Newser) - President Obama is gravely serious about pressuring Hamid Karzai to reel in Afghan corruption—but has almost zero “or else” options. The most logical threat to entice Karzai to clean up his government, pulling out US troops, is “stupid,” a former ambassador tells the New York Times...

MIA Dog A-OK After Year in Afghanistan

Bomb-sniffer Sabi gone for a year after 2008 firefight

(Newser) - An Australian military bomb-sniffing dog that went missing during a firefight in Afghanistan in September 2008 has been reunited with one of her trainers. An American soldier found Sabi wandering near a remote base last week and realized the black Lab wasn’t a stray when she responded to commands....

Obama Rejects Afghan War Options

President wants modified plans, timetables

(Newser) - President Obama refused to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented to him in yesterday's 2 1/2 hour strategy meeting, the AP reports, as concerns soar over the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the ability of a corrupt Afghan government to eventually secure its own country. Obama...

Stories 781 - 800 | << Prev   Next >>