US military

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Obama Doubles Special Ops in Afghanistan

Administration fears time is running out to stop Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration has more than doubled the number of special forces in Afghanistan, tasking them with hunting down Taliban leaders—in part because it’s worried that the US has a dwindling window to defang the insurgency before its scheduled 2011 withdrawal, senior officials tell the LA Times . They’...

Afghans Riot After US Troops Kill Bus Passengers

Civilian death spark outrage before Kandahar push

(Newser) - Anti-American riots swept Kandahar yesterday after American troops opened fire on a passenger bus, killing at least 4 civilians and wounding 18. Accounts of the incident—which deals a massive blow to NATO's hopes of winning over the local population before its upcoming offensive in the area—vary widely. NATO...

Crazy Karzai Regime Is 'Too Big to Fail'

Erratic Afghan leader understands how deep US is in, acts accordingly

(Newser) - The US is engaged in “asymmetrical” warfare with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Fred Kaplan writes, but it also suffers an asymmetrical relationship with an increasingly erratic head of state—Hamid Karzai. His regime “depends entirely on the United States,” sure, but because Western powers “have—and...

US Troops Fire on Civilians in Video, Official Confirms

2007 incident in Iraq likely killed Reuters photographer

(Newser) - A 2007 video that appears to show a US military helicopter firing on Iraqi civilians is indeed authentic, a Pentagon official tells MSNBC . It is likely the incident in which a Reuters photographer was killed; Wikileaks, the site that posted the video , said it came along with “supporting documents...

O'Reilly: I'll Pay Legal Bill for Dead Marine's Dad

Court ordered man to foot protesters' costs

(Newser) - Bill O’Reilly is opening his checkbook for the father of a Marine killed in Iraq after a court ordered him to pay the legal fees of protesters he’d sued for picketing his son’s 2006 funeral. “That is an outrage,” the Fox host said yesterday of...

Pentagon Official Ran Private Assassin Support Crew

Honcho probed over secret 'Jason Bourne' crew

(Newser) - A senior Pentagon official secretly set up a private network of contractors to help track and kill militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, military officials say. Michael D. Furlong may have diverted money from other programs to fund his own network of former CIA and Special Forces operatives, officials tell the...

CIA 'Spiked Baguettes With LSD' in French Experiment

Journalist claims to have solved 'Cursed Bread' mystery

(Newser) - The mysterious madness that overtook a French village in 1951 was the result of a CIA experiment, according to an American investigative journalist. At least 5 people died and dozens more were institutionalized after mass insanity and hallucinations swept through Pont-Saint-Esprit. The incident was called Le Pain Maudit—Cursed Bread—...

Afghan Flag Raised in Marjah
 Afghan Flag Raised in Marjah 
Feb 25, 2010 9:34 AM CST

Afghan Flag Raised in Marjah

Government aims to win residents' allegiance with jobs, projects

(Newser) - The Afghan flag was raised today in Marjah after a two-week offensive that left at least 10 coalition troops and 150 Taliban fighters dead and set the stage for the Afghan government’s hopeful return to an area it ceded two years ago. The governor of Helmand province was at...

Blackwater Used South Park Alias to Grab Afghan Guns

Senate panel slams contractor's 'lawless' conduct

(Newser) - A Blackwater subsidiary operating in Afghanistan hired violent drug addicts to train Afghan forces and seized hundreds of guns intended for the Afghan police, a Senate panel has found. The probe, which criticized the US Army for turning a blind eye to Blackwater abuses, found that in one incident a...

Navy Lifts Ban on Female Submarine Crews

Congress can still block policy change

(Newser) - The Navy has moved to allow women to serve on submarines, lifting the ban that has prevented the service from fully integrating. The Navy's top leadership approved the policy change, opening a 30-day window that began Monday for congressional comment. If Congress wants to continue to keep women off subs,...

Marines Seize Marjah Taliban HQ

Elite squads dropped behind Taliban lines as offensive continues

(Newser) - US Marines seized a compound that appears to have been the Taliban's Marjah headquarters after a fierce gunfight Friday. The compound just south of the town center contained dozens of Taliban-issued ID cards and diplomas from a Taliban training camp in Pakistan, the AP reports. Small groups of fighters abandoned...

Iraq War Renamed 'Operation New Dawn'

'Operation Iraqi Freedom' history as most troops head home

(Newser) - The Obama administration has rebranded the Iraq War as it prepares to pull out most American troops. "Operation Iraqi Freedom" will become "Operation New Dawn" as of Sept. 1, when US troop levels are supposed to fall to around 50,000, the Washington Post reports. Defense Secretary Robert...

On 'Don't Ask,' Even Dick Cheney Sees the Light
On 'Don't Ask,' Even
Dick Cheney Sees the Light
EUGENE ROBINSON
Feb 16, 2010 6:18 AM CST

On 'Don't Ask,' Even Dick Cheney Sees the Light

Ex-VP says it's time to reconsider policy

(Newser) - Opponents of repealing the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy should realize that even Dick Cheney thinks they're stuck in the past, writes Eugene Robinson. The former veep—in a miraculous moment of sense during an interview with This Week filled with the usual fear-mongering—said it's time to reconsider...

US-Pakistan Raid Nets Taliban's Military Chief

Mullah Baradar best capture yet: officials

(Newser) - American officials say they’ve scored their best enemy capture since the beginning of the Afghanistan war, nabbing the Taliban’s military chief in Pakistan in a joint operation with that country’s security services. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is second only in influence to spiritual leader Mullah Muhammad Omar,...

Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy
Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy
analysis
Feb 13, 2010 10:54 AM CST

Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy

When fighting ends, an Afghan government will move in

(Newser) - The massive new assault under way in Afghanistan represents the new military strategy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, writes Dexter Filkins. When the fighting is over and coalition forces have taken control of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, the Afghan government will quickly set up government offices along with a police...

Major Afghan Assault Begins
 Major Afghan Assault Begins 
Feb 12, 2010 6:00 PM CST

Major Afghan Assault Begins

US, Afghan forces attack Taliban-held Marjah

(Newser) - The largest US-led offensive in Afghanistan since the 2001 charge that unseated the Taliban is now under way, with Marines and Afghan troops attacking the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah, which they surrounded yesterday. Operation Moshtarak—meaning “together” in the native Dari tongue—could involve as many as 15,...

75% of Americans Oppose Don't Ask, Don't Tell
 75% of Americans Oppose 
 Don't Ask, Don't Tell 
Poll Numbers
Feb 12, 2010 11:25 AM CST

75% of Americans Oppose Don't Ask, Don't Tell

The country has changed a lot since 1993

(Newser) - The American public overwhelmingly supports allowing gay people to serve openly in the military, which wasn’t the case when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was introduced in 1993. In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, three out of four respondents supported allowing openly gay service members. That’...

US, Afghan Troops Ring Taliban Stronghold

Battle for Marjah to be the biggest in 9-year war

(Newser) - US and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah yesterday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the 9-year war. Taliban defenders repeatedly fired rockets and mortars at units poised in foxholes along the edge of the town,...

Gay Soldiers Say Army's Tolerance Has Grown

Pockets of acceptance spring up in closeted military

(Newser) - Gay soldiers say the military has grown more tolerant in recent years, with younger, more liberal commanders loath to lose skilled troops to a ban they see as outdated. Underground gay communities have sprung up on bases both at home and in the war zone, with email groups keeping gay...

Gay Soldier Invited Back to Guard Unit

Lt. Dan Choi's return means 'don't ask' policy is on last legs

(Newser) - The reservist who was ordered discharged from his US National Guard unit last year after publicly announcing he is gay is back with that unit. Lt. Dan Choi’s discharge is still pending, and, Talking Points Memo reports, with it looking ever more likely that the Pentagon’s “don’...

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