Taliban

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McChrystal: There's Been Enough Fighting

General foresees settlement with weakened Taliban

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he’s pushing towards a negotiated peace with the Taliban, using his newly-expanded forces to weaken their bargaining position. “As a soldier, my personal feeling is that there’s been enough fighting,” the NATO commander in Afghanistan tells the Financial Times . “What I...

Gates Visits Pakistan, Urges Terror Crackdown

But Pakistan says it won't launch further offensives

(Newser) - Robert Gates arrived in Islamabad today for an unannounced visit, urging a crackdown on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters headed for India or Afghanistan. Pakistan often leaves such outward-bound militants alone, concentrating on domestic foes, but “the reality is that you can’t ignore one part of this cancer and...

Stunning Kabul Attack Shows Taliban Moving Into Cities

'Nobody is ready to make any kind of deal'

(Newser) - Yesterday's militant assault in the heart of Kabul succeeded not only in paralyzing the city for hours—it also exposed the vulnerability of the US-backed Afghan government, demonstrated the resilience of the Taliban, and left the usually quiet city with a lingering sense of fear. The morning rush-hour attack offered...

Gun Battle Erupts Near Afghan Prez Palace

Explosionw rock ministries, luxury hotel in central Kabul

(Newser) - A gun battle has erupted near Afghanistan's presidential palace between national security forces and the Taliban shortly after explosions rocked the central Kabul neighborhood. A huge plume of smoke was rising from the area near the Afghanistan Central Bank, government ministries and a luxury hotel popular with westerners, reports the...

70% of Afghan Civilian Deaths Caused by Taliban

Death caused by allied forces down 28%

(Newser) - The number of Afghan civilians who died in war-related violence last year soared to the highest annual level since the conflict began in 2001, with nearly 70% blamed on insurgents, according the the UN, and 25% to allied forces. The UN mission in Afghanistan said 2,412 civilians were killed...

'Vaccination Diplomacy': Taliban Helps UN, Karzai

In 'pact with the devil,' group helps get polio vaccine to far-flung regions

(Newser) - The Taliban may be pariahs to much of the world, but the group's indisputable hold on vast swaths of Afghanistan has produced an unusual arrangement: It's working with UN health officials and the Afghan government to wipe out polio. Volunteers travel to normally dangerous regions to vaccinate children, armed with...

Al-Qaeda Claims Afghan CIA Attack

7 Americans killed included 2 Blackwater contractors

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda became the latest terrorist organization to claim responsibility for the blast that killed eight operatives at a CIA base in Afghanistan last week, with a statement on the al-Qaeda website identifying the bomber as Abu Dujana, a prominent Islamist author and staple on jihadi websites, CNN reports. US intelligence...

General: Brace for Thousands of GI Casualties

McCaffrey predicts Afghan spring offensive will take heavy toll

(Newser) - America should prepare for thousands of casualties when the beefed-up US force in Afghanistan begins its spring offensive against the Taliban, warns a retired general and military expert. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, an analyst who has visited the war zone several times, predicts US casualties will rise to as many as...

Toll Nears 100 After Pakistan Suicide Attack

Bomber detonated car during volleyball tournament

(Newser) - A northwest Pakistani village that tried to resist Taliban infiltration struggled with grief today as families mourned 96 people killed in an apparent revenge suicide bombing at an outdoor volleyball game. The attack on Shah Hasan Khel village was one of the deadliest in a surge of bombings that have...

CIA Base Chief Among 7 Killed in Afghan Blast

Suicide bomber may have been invited as potential informant

(Newser) - Among the seven CIA employees and contractors killed in yesterday's suicide bombing in Afghanistan was the agency's chief officer at the post. One former intelligence official called the attack "devastating" to the CIA's operations in the country. "There was some tremendous talent lost," the official tells the...

Riots Erupt After Dozens Killed in Pakistan

Suicide bomber targets Shiite religious procession

(Newser) - Rioting Shiite Muslims set fire to buildings and dozens of vehicles in Karachi last night after a suicide attack on a religious procession killed at least 40 people. The attack was the third on the city's Shiite minority in three days, and many believe extremists are trying to spark sectarian...

Pakistan Now Owns War on Terror: Zardari

Blames corruption charges on political enemies

(Newser) - On the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, it is necessary to reflect on “how her legacy must be preserved against those who would return Pakistan to darkness,” writes the husband of the former prime minister, President Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari claims victory over militants in Swat, and...

Elite US Forces Take Bigger Role in Afghanistan

Navy Seals, Army's Delta Force make gains against top militants

(Newser) - Elite US military units are taking on a larger role in the hunt for the most dangerous Taliban militants in Afghanistan. Navy Seals and the Army's Delta Force have had enough success over the past few months that their operations will be expanded next year, reports the New York Times...

GI's Family to Taliban: Please Release Our Son

Military says video may have been filmed months ago

(Newser) - The family of an American soldier captured in Afghanistan 6 months ago "pleads with the captors to let our only son come home." Today's statement from the relatives of Pfc. Bowe Robert Bergdahl, 23, follows the release of a video in which Bergdahl speaks against the US war...

Taliban Video Claims to Be Captured US Soldier

Bowe Robert Bergdahl disappeared in Afghanistan in June

(Newser) - The Taliban today released a video purporting to show a US soldier who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan. In the video a man is shown seated, facing the camera, wearing sunglasses and what appears to be a US military helmet and uniform. He identifies himself...

Pakistani Taliban Commander: We're Surging, Too

Waliur Rehman says he's sent thousands into Afghanistan to fight US

(Newser) - A top Pakistani Taliban commander says he sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Afghanistan to rebuff incoming US troops, a claim that comes as a Pakistani army offensive is believed to have pushed many of his men to flee their main redoubt. Waliur Rehman told the AP in an exclusive...

Police Gun Down Afghan Lawmaker
 Police Gun Down 
 Afghan Lawmaker 
trap for taliban goes awry

Police Gun Down Afghan Lawmaker

MP killed in gunfight between bodyguards, cops

(Newser) - A member of the Afghan parliament was mistakenly killed in an early morning shootout between his bodyguards and police officers today. Mohammad Yunos Shirnagha, a lawmaker from northern Baghlan province, was killed as he returned to his home in the provincial capital early this morning, the AP reports.

Obama's Overseas To-Do List for 2010
 Obama's Overseas 
 To-Do List for 2010 
ANALYSIS

Obama's Overseas To-Do List for 2010

Afghanistan, Iran top list that domestic politics could kill anyway

(Newser) - As President Obama noted in his Nobel speech, it’s a scary world out there, and Kevin Whitelaw takes a look at some of the things on his foreign-policy to-do list in 2010:
  • Pacify Afghanistan to some extent: Now that it’s “undeniably Obama’s war,” Whitelaw writes
...

Suicide Bomber in Pakistan Kills 10, Injures 28

Suspected Taliban militants target mosque inside police station

(Newser) - A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near a mosque inside a police compound in northwestern Pakistan today, killing 10 people and injuring 28 in the latest attack by suspected Taliban militants. Most of the victims were police leaving the mosque after Friday prayers. Elsewhere, a suspected US drone fired...

Islam Needs a Civil War

 Islam Needs 
 a Civil War 
Thomas Friedman

Islam Needs a Civil War

Muslim majority must triumph on the ground and in 'Virtual Afghanistan'

(Newser) - Islam has become corrupted by the ideology of a "violent minority," and it's long past time that the majority of Muslims take back their religion, writes Thomas Friedman. How? It needs a "civil war," just as America needed one to overcome the ideology of slavery. "...

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