NATO troops

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Putin Vows to Respond to Rockets on Russia's 'Doorstep'

During year-end conference, president refuses to rule out invasion on Ukraine

(Newser) - If Russian soldiers on the border with Ukraine move on the country, it's not Russia's fault. So said Russian President Vladimir Putin at an end-of-year news conference on Thursday, as a reported 100,000 Russian troops amassed near the Ukrainian border. Putin said Russia had only agreed to...

Palestinian President: We'd Let NATO Stay

Abbas says troops could remain in Palestinian state 'indefinitely': Thomas Friedman

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has a security proposal for Israel: Work with us to establish a Palestinian state, and NATO soldiers can remain in it "for a long time, and wherever they want." In an interview with the New York Times ' Thomas Friedman and Jodi Rudoren, picked...

US General: We're 'Mad as Hell' About Insider Attacks

As fresh attack by suicide bomber in police uniform kills 14

(Newser) - The US is "mad as hell" over the rash of green-on-blue attacks it's facing in Afghanistan, the top US commander there says, even as a fresh attack today killed 14 people in the country's east. "We're going to get after this," Gen. John Allen...

For 20th Time This Year, Afghan Soldier Strikes NATO

'Green on blue' attacks heighten distrust between sides

(Newser) - A man wearing an Afghan army uniform shot dead a US service member in the east of the country, one of two NATO troops killed today, military officials said. NATO didn't officially disclose the nationality of the victim, but a senior US defense official said he was an American...

Afghan 'Allies' Increasingly Killing US Troops

Military report sees killings as a 'systemic threat'

(Newser) - Afghan troops are killing US troops in numbers that “may be unprecedented between 'allies' in modern history,” according to a new classified military report that warns the killings are becoming a “rapidly growing systemic threat” that could undermine the war effort. Based on interviews with 600...

Afghan Blast Kills 7 US Troops
 Afghan Blast Kills 7 US Troops 

Afghan Blast Kills 7 US Troops

Kandahar roadside bomb deadliest since 2009

(Newser) - Nine NATO service members were killed Thursday in Afghanistan, including seven US troops and another NATO service member killed when a powerful bomb exploded in a field where they were patrolling on foot, officials said. Two Afghan policemen also died and two others were wounded in the explosion in the...

Afghan Pilot Kills NATO Troops After ‘Argument’

Man had been in Afghan military for 20 years

(Newser) - A veteran Afghan military officer opened fire on foreign forces today after a dispute at the Kabul airport, killing several NATO troops, Afghan and coalition officials said. It was the latest in a spate of attacks that have occurred inside government or military installations. The Taliban claimed responsibility, but Defense...

6 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan Suicide Bombing

No nationalities given, but most forces in south are American

(Newser) - An explosives-packed minibus blew up at the entrance of a joint NATO-Afghan base in southern Afghanistan today, killing six NATO troops and two Afghan soldiers as they prepared to head out on patrol. NATO has claimed improvements in security after months of raids, patrols and strikes on insurgents in Kandahar...

Obama Plans to Stay in Afghanistan Past 2014
Obama Plans to Stay in Afghanistan Past 2014
nato summit

Obama Plans to Stay in Afghanistan Past 2014

President brings new strategy to NATO summit

(Newser) - As the NATO summit in Lisbon begins today, President Obama has a new plan for Afghanistan—and it calls for the US and others to stick around beyond 2014, the Christian Science Monitor reports. NATO forces, the plan says, will turn over the country to Afghan forces by 2014, but...

US Sending Tanks to Afghanistan for First Time

The 68-ton machines have a main gun that can destroy a home a mile away

(Newser) - The US military is deploying a company of heavily armored tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, in response to the ever-more intense opposition NATO is encountering from the Taliban. Marines in the southwest will get a batch of M1 Abrams tanks, which will allow them...

US Plans 2014 End to Afghan Combat

Phased withdrawal echoes Iraq exit strategy

(Newser) - The Obama administration has worked up a plan to complete the US combat mission in Afghanistan by 2014, gradually shifting security into the hands of Afghan troops, insiders tell the New York Times . The piecemeal strategy, which echoes the phased Iraq withdrawal, will be presented at a NATO meeting in...

NATO Escorts Taliban Elite to Afghan Peace Talks

Talks have included commanders at the highest level of insurgency

(Newser) - NATO troops have been helping top Taliban commanders get to Kabul for face-to-face peace talks with Hamid Karzai, sources tell the New York Times. In at least one case, Taliban leaders actually hopped aboard a NATO aircraft to make the journey, and in others NATO has secured roads, promising leaders...

Petraeus: 2011 Afghan Exit Date May Not Work

US-led coalition can still succeed, he says

(Newser) - In his first public remarks since taking over the command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan last month, Gen. David Petraeus told the New York Times that he will not be bound by Barack Obama's 2011 drawdown date. "The president didn’t send me over here to seek...

Afghan Civilian Deaths Jump 25%

Insurgents blamed, but NATO will catch flak anyway

(Newser) - The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan rose 25% in the first six months of 2010, the United Nations said in a report today that blamed insurgents for the spike. There were fewer civilian casualties from NATO action—a result of Stanley McChrystal's crackdown—but NATO will likely face increasing...

Rogue Afghan Soldier Kills 3 British Troops

Fires grenade into group of soldiers before escaping

(Newser) - A rogue Afghan soldier fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a group of international forces early this morning, killing three British troops and wounding four others. The Afghan soldier, who used a shoulder-mounted launcher to fire a grenade at around 2am, escaped and is being sought. Afghan President Hamid Karzai sent...

Troops Forced to Play Diplomat in Kandahar

Forces represent Afghan government where it fears to go

(Newser) - After the less-than-successful military offensive in Marjah, NATO forces are taking a different tack in the villages surrounding Kandahar: They’re acting as representatives of the distant, oft-distrusted government. In “Operation Hamkari” (“cooperation”), soldiers are attempting to drive out the Taliban simply by improving government services and...

NATO Strike Kills 5 Afghan Troops

Allies 'weren't clear' Afghans were in the area

(Newser) - NATO mistakenly killed five of its Afghan army allies in an airstrike today while the Afghans were attacking insurgents in the country's east. The Afghan soldiers were launching an ambush before dawn against insurgents in Ghazni province when NATO aircraft began firing on them without warning, the AP reports. An...

Petraeus: 'We Are in This to Win'
 Petraeus: 
 'We Are in 
 This to Win' 
FIRST DAY ON THE JOB

Petraeus: 'We Are in This to Win'

General officially takes the reins in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Gen. David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan today, declaring "we are in this to win" despite rising casualties and growing skepticism about the nearly 9-year-old war. "We have arrived at a critical moment," he told a crowd of hundreds, also...

It's Time to Negotiate With the Taliban: Brit Army Boss

We're winning battles, but not the war

(Newser) - It's time to negotiate with the Taliban, because NATO forces will not defeat them in battle in Afghanistan, the head of the British army said yesterday. General Sir David Richards said that while allied forces can continue to "punish" the Taliban in individual battles, overall victory is now looking...

Karzai Doesn't Want McChrystal Fired
Karzai Doesn't Want McChrystal Fired

Karzai Doesn't Want McChrystal Fired

Afghan president says general 'is a person of great integrity'

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai believes Gen. Stanley McChrystal is the "best commander" of the war and hopes President Obama doesn't decide to replace him, a rep for the Afghan president said today. The leader of American forces in Aghanistan, under fire for his and his staff's indiscreet comments to a Rolling ...

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