Afghanistan war

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CIA Ignored Warning of Bomber at Base

Double agent killed 7 agency workers in Afghanistan last year

(Newser) - Another case of ignored intelligence, this time with deadly consequences for seven CIA employees. Weeks before a supposed al-Qaeda informant detonated a suicide vest inside an American base in Khost, Afghanistan, the agency had been tipped off that he was a double agent plotting a trap, reports the New York ...

Rogue Soldiers Had Little Supervision in Afghanistan

Superiors ignored warning signs

(Newser) - As the legal case proceeds against US soldiers accused of murdering Afghan civilians for kicks, it's beginning to become clear they had little supervision at their remote outpost, the New York Times reports. Interviews and legal documents paint a picture of rampant drug use in the 30-man platoon, and of...

Software Lawsuit May Ground CIA's Drones

It could also explain why so many civilians are killed

(Newser) - One Massachusetts company is accusing another of pirating its software, which might not be be a big deal if that software didn't happen to be used in the CIA's Predator drones in Afghanistan. When a ruling comes down in December, it could ground the drone fleet indefinitely and put a...

US Backs Taliban Talks
 US Backs Taliban Talks 
Oct 15, 2010 1:00 AM CDT

US Backs Taliban Talks

Clinton: 'Stranger things have happened'

(Newser) - Western nations seem to be quickly warming to the idea of talking peace with the Taliban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who only last month said talks would be premature, backed the idea at a NATO meeting yesterday, the AP reports. "Whenever opportunities arise that are worth exploring, I think...

Navy SEAL Faces Discipline Over Botched Hostage Raid

He didn't tell superiors he used grenade in Linda Norgrove mission

(Newser) - A member of the Navy SEALs faces likely discipline in the botched raid to free a British hostage in Afghanistan, the Guardian reports. He apparently threw the grenade that killed Linda Norgrove and failed to immediately inform his superiors that he used the device. The details emerged as a joint...

Karzai Confirms Taliban Talks
 Karzai Confirms Taliban Talks 
Oct 11, 2010 3:22 AM CDT

Karzai Confirms Taliban Talks

Reps are talking 'countryman to countryman,' he says

(Newser) - It's official: Hamid Karzai is talking to the Taliban in a last-ditch bid for peace. In an interview with CNN 's Larry King set to air today, the Afghan leader says his government is engaged in "unofficial" discussion with Taliban reps. "We have been talking to the Taliban...

Pakistan Reopens Border Crossing
 Pakistan Reopens 
 Border Crossing 
UPDATED
Oct 10, 2010 2:18 PM CDT

Pakistan Reopens Border Crossing

Key supply route was closed 11 days

(Newser) - Pakistan reopened a key border crossing used to transport supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan today, a day earlier than expected. The 11-day blockade had raised tensions with Washington and left stranded trucks vulnerable to attacks. About 150 trucks were destroyed during the blockade, and drivers and police were injured....

UK Aid Worker Killed in Botched Afghan Rescue

Linda Norgrove had been kidnapped Sept. 26

(Newser) - A British aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan last month was killed last night in a failed rescue attempt. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK received a tip about where Linda Norgrove was being held, and "given the danger she was facing," decided "her best chance...

Afghan Warlords, Insurgents Hired to Guard US Bases

Senate panel says lack of oversight creating 'grave risks' for US troops

(Newser) - American contractors in Afghanistan have hired security forces with links to the Taliban, warlords, and even Iranian intelligence services to guard US bases in Afghanistan, according to a Senate Armed Services Committee report. The report found that "systemic failures" exist in the Pentagon's oversight of Afghan guards and that...

Unhappy 9th Anniversary for Afghan War

 Unhappy 
 9th Anniversary 
 for Afghan War 
Opinion Roundup
Oct 7, 2010 12:37 PM CDT

Unhappy 9th Anniversary for Afghan War

No end in sight for quagmire

(Newser) - When the Afghan war launched nine years ago today, 88% of the public supported it. Now, nearly two-thirds of the public oppose it, according to Mother Jones . Why? Here’s what pundits are saying as the war enters its 10th year:
  • The war “started as a violent, feel-good strike
...

Pakistan Pushes Taliban to Keep Fighting: Report

Militants say ISI threatens to arrest them if they don't

(Newser) - Pakistani intelligence has been actively pressuring the Taliban to continue fighting in Afghanistan, even threatening to arrest them if they don’t, Afghan militants tell the Wall Street Journal . Taliban commanders say pressure from the ISI is one of the main reasons that few have taken the Afghan government up...

US in Secret Talks With Ruthless Haqqani Network

Which have been described as 'extremely tentative'

(Newser) - The US and Afghan governments have both been in secret talks with the Haqqani network, which they have come to believe is the most powerful and ruthless of all the Afghan insurgent groups, sources tell the Guardian . The US has been talking to the network through intermediaries for more than...

Prince Harry Taliban Kidnap Drama Irks Royals

Royal 'furious' at fictional depiction of Afghan snatching

(Newser) - Prince Harry begs his Taliban captors for his life in a British drama to be broadcast later this month, and the royal soldier is not amused. Channel 4's "dramatized documentary" The Taking of Prince Harry mixes footage of a kidnapped Harry, played by actor Sebastian Reid, with real interviews...

US Apologizes to Pakistan for Errant Strike

Move could pave way for reopening of supply route

(Newser) - The US apologized today for a recent helicopter attack that killed two Pakistani soldiers at an outpost near the Afghan border, saying American pilots mistook the soldiers for insurgents they were pursuing. The apology, which came after a joint investigation, could pave the way for Pakistan to reopen a key...

Taliban, Karzai In Talks to End War

Leaders seeking peace deal, role in government: sources

(Newser) - The Taliban are in secret talks with the Afghan government to end the war, according to the Washington Post , which cites Arab and Afghan sources. The Taliban's representatives are this time authorized to speak on behalf of Mullah Omar and other leaders and "they are very, very serious about...

Pakistan Gunmen Torch Dozens of NATO Tankers

Driver killed as key border crossing remains closed

(Newser) - Gunmen torched more than two dozen tankers carrying fuel to NATO troops and killed a driver today in the sixth attack on convoys taking supplies to Afghanistan since Pakistan closed a key border crossing almost a week ago. The Khyber Pass crossing was closed after a NATO helicopter attack in...

Soldiers, Best Friends, Buried Side-by-Side

Two who were like brothers reunited in Arlington National Cemetery

(Newser) - Travis Manion and Brendan Looney grew to love each other like brothers when they roomed together at the Naval Academy for two years. But when they went their separate ways, Manion to Iraq and Looney to Afghanistan, their families never dreamed the friends’ reunion would take place at Arlington National...

Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama
Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama
Charles Krauthammer
Oct 1, 2010 1:56 PM CDT

Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama

Charles Krauthammer: President doesn't believe in the war

(Newser) - President Obama doesn't really believe in the Afghanistan war, writes Charles Krauthammer, and Bob Woodward's book proves it. Sure, he increased troops and called it a "vital national interest," but he simultaneously told his team that he needed an exit strategy because "I can't lose the whole...

NATO Supply Trucks Torched in Pakistan

Attack comes a day after blockade

(Newser) - Gunmen set fire to more than two dozen NATO supply trucks this morning in southern Pakistan, just a day after Pakistani authorities blocked the main supply route into Afghanistan. Attacks on supply trucks are fairly common, but the blockade made the trucks especially easy targets this time. “Around 20...

Pakistan Blocks NATO Supply Route

Move seems to be in retaliation for morning's helicopter strikes

(Newser) - Pakistan blocked a major NATO supply line into Afghanistan today, in apparent retaliation for a cross-border helicopter attack. A pair of NATO helicopters opened fire on a border village in Pakistan’s Kurram region this morning, killing three Frontiers Corps troops, Pakistani security tells Reuters . Within hours, roughly 100 NATO...

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