Category Archives: Afghanistan

First Thoughts: Is the end of the Afghanistan war near?

By doris | Published: February 3, 2012

Full Story at FirstRead.msnbc.msn.com Is the end of the Afghanistan war near? While another story is the top topic of political conversation — Romney’s “I’m not concerned about the very poor” — there’s a more impactful story that’s in the news today: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement that the U.S. will end its combat operations [...]

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Marine gets 30 days in hazing case linked to suicide

By doris | Published: January 31, 2012

Full Story at msnbc.com KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — A Marine accused of hazing a colleague who later committed suicide in Afghanistan was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail and a reduction in rank. Navy Capt. Carrie Stephens, the judge in Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby’s special court-martial, handed down the sentence after Jacoby pleaded guilty [...]

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US general booted for Afghan remarks

By doris | Published: November 4, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com WASHINGTON — A top U.S. general in Afghanistan was relieved of duty Friday for “inappropriate public comments” after calling the Afghan government “isolated from reality” and President Hamid Karzai “erratic.” Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, deputy commander for training Afghan security forces, blasted the Afghan government, military and Karzai in an interview with [...]

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Pepper spray used on demonstrators at Air and Space Museum

By doris | Published: October 9, 2011

Full Story at CNN.com Washington (CNN) — Authorities used pepper spray on a group of protesters trying to enter the National Air and Space Museum on Saturday, forcing the building to close about two hours early. One person was arrested, according to Linda St. Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Smithsonian Institution, which runs that and [...]

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Forces in Afghanistan kill militants involved in downing of copter

By doris | Published: August 10, 2011

Full Story at CNN.com Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Coalition forces in Afghanistan have killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for the downing of a helicopter that left 38 U.S. and Afghan personnel dead, the commander of U.S. forces there and NATO announced Wednesday. A precision airstrike killed Mullah Mohibullah — a Taliban leader — and the [...]

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White House: No bin Laden photo release

By doris | Published: May 4, 2011

Full Story at CNN.com Washington (CNN) — Not wanting to inflame passions or appear to gloat, President Barack Obama decided Wednesday against releasing a gruesome photo of Osama bin Laden’s corpse. “There’s a long history of images like that being used to rally opinion against people, to turn people into heroes,” White House press secretary [...]

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Obama OKs use of Predator drones in Libya

By doris | Published: April 21, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com The United States is using armed Predator drones in Libya to target Moammar Gadhafi’s forces with the approval of President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday. The unmanned aircraft, already used to target militants along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, will allow for precise attacks against Gadhafi’s forces, Gates [...]

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War hero’s tour: A soldier adjusts to fame

By doris | Published: January 3, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com CHICAGO — It was years in the making, so Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta had time to talk with his wife about the “what if” question. He’d been recommended for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. If chosen, his name would be in headlines. His face in the spotlight. [...]

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Unemployment on the rise for veterans of current wars

By doris | Published: April 4, 2010

Full Story atCNN.com Washington (CNN) — The unemployment rate for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars reached 14.7 percent in March, according to the latest government statistics. The number of unemployed veterans increased to more than 250,000, up about 40,000 over the previous month’s figures, according to the Department of Labor Statistics. Veterans groups [...]

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Karzai calls Clinton amid US criticism

By doris | Published: April 3, 2010

Full Story at msnbc.com WASHINGTON – Afghan President Hamid Karzai called Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday after the Obama administration expressed dismay at his assertion a day earlier that the international community was to blame for the controversy over last year’s disputed Afghan election. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Karzai used [...]

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Suicide bomber strikes U.S. base

By doris | Published: February 12, 2010

Full Story at CNN.com Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Five U.S. soldiers were wounded Thursday when a suicide bomber attacked a U.S. base, an Afghan official said. The attacker detonated the bomb about 9 p.m. while in the “sleeping area” on the base, said Paktia province spokesman Roullah Samoun. It is unclear how the bomber got [...]

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Report: New bin Laden tape emerges

By doris | Published: January 25, 2010

Full Story at  CNN.com (CNN) — A new audio tape allegedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claims responsibility for an attempt to blow up a plane en route to Michigan on Christmas Day and warns the United States of more attacks. The tape, which aired on the Arabic-language news Web site Al-Jazeera on [...]

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Source: Jordanian double-agent killed 7 CIA officers in suicide blast

By doris | Published: January 8, 2010

Full Story at CNN.com Washington (CNN) — The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian military officer last week in Afghanistan was a Jordanian double-agent, a former U.S. intelligence official told CNN Monday. The bomber was a source who came to the base camp in Khost near the Pakistan border for a [...]

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Afghan leader: Help needed to pay for larger army

By doris | Published: December 8, 2009

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday it will be at least 15 years before his government can bankroll a security force strong enough to protect the country from the threat of insurgency. Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Karzai said Afghan security forces [...]

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Troops, families mixed over Obama’s surge

By doris | Published: December 2, 2009

Full Story at msnbc.com JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – Battle-weary troops and their families braced for a wrenching round of new deployments to Afghanistan announced Tuesday by the president, but many said they support the surge as long as it helps to end the eight-year-old conflict. As President Barack Obama outlined his plan to send 30,000 extra [...]

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Whistle-blower: Contractor mischief in Kabul ‘over the top’

By doris | Published: September 6, 2009

Full Story at CNN.com Terry Pearson, who worked as an operations manager for contractor R.A. International at Camp Sullivan in Afghanistan, said he witnessed mistreatment among the guards employed by ArmorGroup North America, who were housed at the camp. “It was just downright stupid, some of the things they were doing,” Pearson told CNN. “And [...]

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