Taliban

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Afghans Infuriated by Gaping Wealth Divide

Corruption fuels scattered elite class

(Newser) - Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world—but while many are forced to beg for change, scattered neighbors are living in mansions, having mysteriously accumulated vast wealth, the Washington Post reports. Stories of drug trafficking, smuggling, and abuse of international aid abound. “All the jobs and...

5 US Troops Killed in Wave of Afghan Attacks

Including 5 American soldiers

(Newser) - Three American soldiers were killed today when their Humvee hit a roadside bomb in Southern Afghanistan, and two were killed yesterday, as a string of attacks took 18 lives in the country over the past two days. Earlier today a suicide bomber blew himself up in a fruit shop in...

Pakistan Cracks Open Afghan Supply Route

Crucial Khyber Pass has been shut for anti-Taliban campaign

(Newser) - Pakistan allowed traffic to cross the Khyber Pass today for 6 hours after closing it to help fight the Taliban, the New York Times reports. But analysts say that once the offensive is over, guerrillas who fled the area will simply return to the pass, a crucial supply route for...

Pakistani Offensive Shuts US Supply Line to Afghanistan

Crackdown targets Khyber Pass militants

(Newser) - Pakistan closed the main route used to ferry supplies to US and allied troops in Afghanistan today after launching a fresh offensive against militants in the area. The road through the Khyber Pass in the northwest of Pakistan has faced increasing attacks by militants seeking to squeeze Western forces fighting...

Taliban Exact Revenge on Pakistani Town That Stood Up

Car bombing punishes crackdown on militants

(Newser) - A few months ago, villagers in a Pakistani town killed six Taliban fighters who had bound and killed local police; yesterday, the Taliban retaliated, targeting the town of Shalbandi with a suicide car bomb that killed more than 30. The explosion rocked a school that was holding a vote to...

Afghan Dogfighting Resurges
 Afghan Dogfighting 
 Resurges 
Dec 28, 2008 6:06 AM CST

Afghan Dogfighting Resurges

Thousands flock to weekly events

(Newser) - Dogfighting in Afghanistan is experiencing a major resurgence since the fall of the Taliban, with weekly fights in many communities and purses as high as $50,000, reports the New York Times. The Taliban banned the practice as un-Islamic, but the fights are now as popular as ever. Twice weekly...

Pakistan Moves Troops Toward Indian Border

Shift comes amid tensions after Mumbai crisis

(Newser) - Pakistan began moving thousands of troops away from the Afghan border toward India today amid tensions following the Mumbai attacks, intelligence officials said. The move represents a sharp escalation in the standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors and will hurt Pakistan's US-backed campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban taking place near...

Pakistani Taliban Vow to Blow Up Girls' Schools

Extremists also ban polio vaccines; order women to cover up

(Newser) - Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat region have threatened to blow up schools and kill schoolgirls if female education isn't halted by next month, reports the Times of London. The extremists have already destroyed 125 schools for girls in the region this year. Women have been warned not to set foot...

Afghans Uneasy With US Plan to Fund Militias

Strategy imported from Iraq prompts local fears of civil war

(Newser) - As the US military and Afghan government prepare to arm local militias against the resurgent Taliban, many Afghans are uneasy, fearing that militias formed along ethnic lines could spiral out of control and turn on citizens, reports the New York Times. The plan, which steals a page from the Awakening...

US Will Finance Afghan Militias
 US Will Finance Afghan Militias 
Dec 23, 2008 11:51 AM CST

US Will Finance Afghan Militias

Local security strategy echoes Iraq counterinsurgency strategy

(Newser) - The US will begin funding local militias throughout Afghanistan, an effort to re-create the successful counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Afghanistan historically has been known as a country where local communities took care of themselves,” explained the US ambassador. “The way to counter...

US Drone Strike Kills 7 in Pakistan
US Drone Strike Kills
7 in Pakistan
Dec 22, 2008 6:48 AM CST

US Drone Strike Kills 7 in Pakistan

Attack mounts pressure for government to act

(Newser) - An unmanned US drone is suspected of firing two missiles in Pakistan that killed seven people, the BBC reports. Taliban were seen pulling bodies from a fort-like house afterward as tribesmen fired at the aircraft. Since August, American-operated drones have launched more than 20 missiles in the tribal areas near...

US May Double Forces in Afghanistan to 60K

(Newser) - The US could double the number of its troops in Afghanistan to about 60,000 by next summer, the highest such estimate to date, Reuters reports. American troops currently number 31,000, but joint chiefs chairman Mike Mullen said today that an additional 20,000 to 30,000 will be...

'American Taliban' Pleads for Mercy

Seeks freedom after 7 years in prison

(Newser) - A young California man captured with the Taliban in 2001 is asking President Bush to commute the remaining 13 years of a 20-year prison sentence. John Walker Lindh, 27, joined the Taliban a month before the US-led invasion of Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. Lindh claims he was never a...

Kidnap Rise Adds to Afghan Woes Awaiting Obama
Kidnap Rise Adds to Afghan Woes Awaiting Obama
ANALYSIS
Dec 16, 2008 3:19 PM CST

Kidnap Rise Adds to Afghan Woes Awaiting Obama

Obama faces an increasingly challenging scenario as government falters in Kabul

(Newser) - A rash of kidnappings has struck Afghanistan, a symptom of the deteriorating security situation there, writes Masha Hamilton in Salon. Kabul is no longer viewed as a safe haven as the Taliban and criminal gangs seize foreigners and Afghans alike—sometimes for ideological reasons, often just for a ransom payment....

Poll Backs Obama's War Plans
 Poll Backs Obama's War Plans 
ANALYSIS
Dec 16, 2008 12:49 PM CST

Poll Backs Obama's War Plans

Americans' opinion of Iraq effort most upbeat in 5 years

(Newser) - Barack Obama echoes most Americans’ war views, if not those of his national-security team, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. Though 27% fewer Americans are pessimistic about efforts in Iraq compared to 2 years ago, 70% say they want troops withdrawn within 16 months, as Obama has promised. Most—67%—...

Bush Stops in Afghanistan; Vows Support

Pledges continued US support

(Newser) - Five hours after his final visit to the country that defined his presidency, President Bush landed in Afghanistan this morning for an unsurprising surprise visit on his farewell tour. After a pre-dawn rally with US troops, the president renewed his support of the fledgling democracy in a meeting with President...

Senate Report Pins Torture on Rumsfeld

Bipartisan panel, including McCain, concludes detainee abuse not just because of 'a few bad apples'

(Newser) - Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top White House officials were responsible for detainee abuse at US military prisons, a bipartisan Senate report finds. After 2 years of hearing testimony and reviewing documents, the study—released by Sens. John McCain and Carl Levin—traces controversial interrogation practices like sleep...

Obama Must Put Lawless Somalia Back on Agenda

US has treated nation as if it doesn't matter ... just like pre-9/11 Afghanistan

(Newser) - With a government “rotten to the core,” continuing civilian deaths, and burgeoning Islamic extremism that echoes the atmosphere in Afghanistan under the Taliban, it’s time for the US to stop ignoring Somalia, writes Aidan Hartley in Vanity Fair. After two helicopters were shot down there in 1993,...

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'
 Afghanistan Is a
'Theme Park of Problems'
Analysis
Dec 2, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'

Obama has his work cut out for him

(Newser) - Winning in Afghanistan won’t be nearly as easy as Barack Obama hopes, military experts tell the New York Times. The president-elect has staked his national security reputation on Afghanistan, but the rural nature of the insurgency there will make it difficult to stamp out. “Afghanistan may be the...

US Suspects Pakistani Group Behind Mumbai Terror

Kashmir-based extremist group has links to al-Qaeda, Taliban

(Newser) - American intelligence experts are focusing on a Pakistani group as they help India probe the Mumbai attacks, the New York Times reports. Counterterrorism authorities won't say what makes them suspect Kashmir-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, but it’s believed that at least one member has been captured for interrogation. The militant group is...

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