Afghanistan war

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&#39;Kill Team&#39; Soldier Gets 5 Years
 'Kill Team' Soldier Gets 5 Years 
Nov 21, 2011 12:12 AM CST

'Kill Team' Soldier Gets 5 Years

David Bram guilty on 7 of 9 charges related to murder, assault of civilians

(Newser) - A US Army sergeant was sentenced to five years in jail on Friday for his role in the infamous "Kill Team" of soldiers, who committed war crimes while serving in Afghanistan, reports the New York Daily News . David Bram, the eleventh soldier convicted of crimes related to the Kill...

Super Committee Wants to Count $700B War Savings

'Gimmick' would pay for things like payroll tax cut

(Newser) - The congressional super committee isn’t any closer to a deal, but consensus is growing around one thing: Counting the roughly $700 billion the country intends to stop spending in Iraq and Afghanistan toward its total. The idea has budget experts enraged—one member of a bipartisan group called it...

'Thrill Kill' Soldier Calvin Gibbs Guilty
 'Thrill Kill' Ringleader Guilty 
Nov 11, 2011 4:00 AM CST

'Thrill Kill' Ringleader Guilty

Soldier Calvin Gibbs led gang that killed Afghan civilians for fun

(Newser) - Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs "had a charisma, a 'follow me' personality," a prosecutor told a military court this week. "But it was all a bunch of crap. He had his own mission: murder and depravity." Gibbs, leader of a "thrill kill" gang of US...

US General Ousted After Dissing Karzai

Peter Fuller called Afghan leaders 'out of touch with reality'

(Newser) - One of the highest-ranking US commanders in Afghanistan didn't get that Stanley McChrystal memo about watching your tongue in the presence of reporters. Major Gen. Peter Fuller has been relieved of command after bad-mouthing Hamid Karzai and other Afghan leaders, reports CNN . Fuller made the comments in this Politico...

Obama Considering Scaling Back Afghan Mission

US would shift to advisory role

(Newser) - The White House is looking to shift US troops in Afghanistan from a combat role to a primarily advisory one earlier than previously planned. While no decisions have been made yet, the possibility has been discussed at high-level meetings with defense officials, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , with some...

Afghan Suicide Bombing, Shooting Kill 6
 17 Dead in Kabul Bombing 
updated
Oct 29, 2011 3:54 PM CDT

17 Dead in Kabul Bombing

Suicide bomber hits NATO convoy

(Newser) - A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an armored NATO bus today on a busy thoroughfare in Kabul, killing 17 people, including 12 Americans. It was the deadliest strike against the US-led coalition in the Afghan capital since the war began. US soldiers wept as they...

Ticket to Peace in Afghanistan: Yoga?

Former supermodel proposes meditation for imprisoned insurgents

(Newser) - A former male supermodel thinks he knows how to heal the rift between Taliban militants and coalition troops in Afghanistan—through yoga and meditation. Cameron Alborzian, who, incidentally, played Madonna's beau in her 1989 music video for "Express Yourself" and has worked as Ellen DeGeneres' private guru, pitched...

Karzai: In US vs. Pakistan, We Pick Pakistan

Remarks come just two days after Clinton visit

(Newser) - So how well received was Hillary Clinton's admonition to Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he had to step up pressure on Pakistan to stop sending militants into Afghanistan? On Thursday, Karzai seemed to be on board, even slamming his neighbor to the east. Yesterday? Not so much. "If...

Clinton Pushes Taliban Talks in Surprise Afghan Visit

She will press Karzai to keep trying to woo insurgents

(Newser) - Hillary Rodham Clinton is personally encouraging Afghanistan's wary leadership to keep up Taliban reconciliation efforts. Clinton arrived in Kabul today on an unannounced visit and was scheduled to see President Hamid Karzai and other top Afghan officials tomorrow. Her trip came after Karzai expressed frustration with attempts to woo...

US, Afghan Forces Mass at Pakistan Border
US, Afghan Forces Mass
at Pakistan Border
target: haqqani
Oct 19, 2011 6:57 AM CDT

US, Afghan Forces Mass at Pakistan Border

Attack on Haqqani network expected

(Newser) - Large numbers of American and Afghan troops have gathered near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan and a crackdown on the Taliban-allied Haqqani militant network is widely expected. The group—which operates on both sides of the border—has been responsible for many attacks on coalition forces, and while military sources...

Afghanistan Routinely Tortures Prisoners: UN

'Even stones confess here,' one guard said; Kabul promises reform

(Newser) - A UN investigation has uncovered “a compelling pattern … of systemic torture and ill-treatment” in Afghan prisons, with prisoners reporting being beaten and shocked with electrical cables, hung by their hands, and having their genitals twisted until they passed out, the New York Times reports. Nearly half of all...

McChrystal: US View of Afghan War 'Frighteningly Simplistic'

Now we've only met half our goals, he says

(Newser) - After a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, the US and its NATO allies are only "a little better than" halfway to meeting their war goals, Gen. Stanley McChrystal warns. The former commander of coalition forces says the slow progress is largely due to the US not knowing what it...

US Had Secret Talks With Haqqani Network

Meeting was set up by Pakistan's ISI

(Newser) - The US held at least one secret peace negotiation this summer with the Haqqani Network, the militant group at the center of its current public spat with Pakistan, senior officials tell the Wall Street Journal . The meeting was set up by Pakistani intelligence, which the US says confirms its suspicions...

Afghan Spies Foil Karzai Assassination

One of his body guards, several college students arrested

(Newser) - Afghan intelligence officials say they have foiled an assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, arresting six people in Kabul who they say are affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Haqqani militant group. Those arrested included one of Karzai's body guards, three college students, and a university professor, according to an...

Taliban's New Muscle Flexing: Cell Phone Outages

Awaiting US exit, they fight mind games

(Newser) - Every evening like clockwork, all the cell phones in Afghanistan's Wardrak Province stop working—and every resident knows why. The Taliban have taken to shutting off cell towers all across Afghanistan, threatening to blow them up if operators don’t cooperate, the New York Times reports. “Our main...

Just 1 in 3 Vets Say Iraq, Afghanistan Wars 'Worth It'

Another 1 in 3 disagree: Pew Research Center poll

(Newser) - Friday marks the 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan; with an eye on the decade-long effort, the Pew Research Center asks veterans: Were the Afghanistan and Iraq wars worth it? Just 34% of post-Sept. 11 veterans say yes, while another 33% say no (Afghanistan is considered slightly more...

Haqqani Denies Link With Pakistan

And insists it didn't assassinate peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani

(Newser) - The Haqqani network has no ties to Pakistan’s ISI and isn’t responsible for the assassination of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani , Siraj Haqqani tells the BBC . Siraj is the son of Haqqani network founder and namesake Jalaluddin Haqqani, and is a major leader within the group. “We’...

No Afghan Soldiers Fight Without US Help

Most Afghan fighters lack education to use military equipment

(Newser) - Ten years and $66 billion later, not one Afghan battalion is operating on its own. That was the conclusion of Lt. Gen. William Caldwell today as he set new benchmarks for training Afghan soldiers and expressed alarm over the attrition rates of Afghanistan's men in uniform. In charge of...

Gunman Kills American at Kabul CIA Station

Not yet clear whether attacker was connected to Taliban

(Newser) - An Afghan employee who “had the trust” of American CIA agents in Kabul shot and killed one US citizen and injured another last night at a compound believed to hold a CIA station. No motive is yet known, and it’s not clear whether the attacker—who was shot...

Afghan &#39;Snuff Films&#39; Degrading Brit Troops: Documentary
 Afghan 
 'Snuff Films' 
 Degrading 
 British Troops 
says documentary
Sep 26, 2011 4:00 AM CDT

Afghan 'Snuff Films' Degrading British Troops

But military says films shown to inform troops and help morale

(Newser) - It's not exactly must-see TV. British troops in Afghanistan have been watching "Kill TV," featuring gruesome footage of helicopter attacks cutting down people, reports the Independent . The revelation comes from a documentary soon to air on British television. In one video, an Afghan woman is referred to...

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