Afghan President Promises He Won’t Seek Third Term
SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai won’t run in 2014. Actually, he can’t. The flamboyant and often inscrutable leader is barred by his constitution from seeking a third term.
Karzai asserted that there is “…
Five NATO Soldiers Killed in Southern Afghanistan
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Five NATO troops were killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.The troops, members of the International Security Assistance Force, were killed by an improvised explosive device, according …
US Diplomat Killed in Afghanistan ‘Loved the Work She Was Doing’
ABC News(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The friends and family of Anne Smedinghoff are mourning the 25-year-old Foreign Service Officer killed in a car bomb blast in southern Afghanistan whom they describe as vivacious and loving.
Smedinghoff was one of five A…
Six Americans Killed in Attacks in Afghanistan
iStockphoto(KANDAHAR, Afghanistan) — A suicide bomber killed five Americans and an Afghan doctor while wounding several others on Saturday while another American was killed in a separate incident in another part of the country.
In southeastern Afghani…
U.S. and Afghanistan Reach Agreement on Control of Bagram Prison
Kevin Horan/Stone(WASHINGTON) — After negotiations and delays, the International Security Assistance Force has turned control of Bagram detention facility to the Afghan government.The prison was a main topic of conversation when Secretary of Defense C…
ISAF Troops Warned of New Threats After Karzai’s Remarks
SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Coalition troops in Afghanistan have been put on higher alert, thanks to recent remarks made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.In a command threat advisory sent on Wednesday and obtained by The New York Times, Ge…
GOP Lawmaker Recommends Huge Post-War Force in Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury/Released(WASHINGTON) — The Obama administration is still considering how many American troops will remain in Afghanistan when the coalition pulls out the majority of forces next year.While tha…
Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Kills Five Americans
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Monday turned out to be the deadliest day of the year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan as officials said that a helicopter crash outside of Kandahar killed five Americans on board.NATO claimed the Black Hawk …
Two US Troops, Three Afghan Cops Killed in Apparent ‘Insider’ Attack
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury/Released(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Two U.S. troops are dead after an apparent “insider” attack in eastern Afghanistan on Monday.According to officials, a gunman wearing an Afghan police uniform op…
Tense Times for Afghanistan and the United States
Jason Reed-Pool/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — In what appears to be the latest sign of a deteriorating relationship between two allies, a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the Afghan capi…
Tense Times for Afghanistan and the United States
Jason Reed-Pool/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) — In what appears to be the latest sign of a deteriorating relationship between two allies, a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the Afghan capi…
Taliban Hands Over Bodies of 16 Afghan Soldiers
Patrick Smith/Getty Images(WARDOOJ, Afghanistan) — The Taliban turned over the bodies of 16 Afghan soldiers killed in an attack on Sunday.
The firefight, which took place in the district of Wardooj, was among the deadliest attacks on Afghan National A…
US Denies Allegations of Torture by Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury/Released(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The U.S. is denying insinuations by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that its Special Forces were part of a series of tortures and other serious misconduct in Afgha…
Afghan President Hamid Karzai to US Special Ops: Get Out
MASSOUD HOSSAINI/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered all U.S. Special Forces out of two key provinces within two weeks, accusing Afghan units under their jurisdiction of being responsible for the torture, abuse, and …
Pakistanis Wants Afghans to Return Taliban Commander
George Doyle/Thinkstock(ISLAMABAD) — Pakistan wants Afghanistan to hand over a senior Taliban commander its forces apprehended earlier in this week.The capture of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad along with some bodyguards in southeastern Afghanistan is consider…
US Flew More Drone Missions in Afghanistan in 2012 than Ever Before
JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — As the U.S. military began pulling back on the ground in Afghanistan in 2012, it greatly upped the number of drone strikes.The United Nations reported on Tuesday that more than 500 weapons were fired from unmann…
Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan Down for First Time in Six Years
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The number of civilians who died in Afghanistan has dropped for the first time in six years, according to the latest findings from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).The U.N. repor…
Senate Panel Grills Candidate to Head Central Command
PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The general assigned to head the U.S. Central Command in the Middle East was grilled on Thursday about Afghanistan and Iraq by members on the Senate Armed Services Committee.As it happened Army Gen. Lloy…
Obama to Announce 34,000 Troops Coming Home from Afghanistan
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama will announce at Tuesday night’s State of the Union address that 34,000 troops — more than half of those currently serving in the combat region — will be back from Afghanistan a year from Tu…
US Begins Shipping Supplies Out of Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury/Released(KABUL, Afghanistan) — In a sign of what is to come, the Pentagon has started shipping heavy equipment out of Afghanistan in anticipation of its major military withdrawal scheduled for…