Afghanistan exit strategy

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Military Will Never Use New $34M Afghanistan Base

Critics say it's the most glaring boondoggle in a war full of them: Washington Post

(Newser) - When a two-star general visited the new 64,000-square-foot US military headquarters building at Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan, he was impressed. It's "better appointed than any Marine headquarters anywhere in the world," he tells the Washington Post , before adding, "What the hell were they thinking?"...

'Frustrated' Obama May Yank All Troops in Afghanistan

Relations with Karzai going downhill fast, insiders say

(Newser) - President Obama is so sick of dealing with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai that he is seriously considering bringing American military involvement in the country to a speedy and complete end, senior administration officials tell CNN and the New York Times . The "zero option" of leaving no American troops...

UK Lawmakers Warn of Afghan Civil War

Plan appears to be to 'hope for the best,' committee finds

(Newser) - Afghanistan is in danger of descending into civil war after coalition forces end their frontline role next year, and the UK government's strategy appears to be simply to withdraw and hope for the best, a group of British lawmakers warns. A report from a cross-party defense committee warns that...

Hagel Meets Karzai After Threats, Friction

Pushes back against Karzai's US-Taliban comments

(Newser) - Chuck Hagel finally did meet privately with Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday before returning to Washington today, and despite the security concerns that initially canceled the meeting , Hagel told the press he and Karzai discussed key issues, the AP reports. "I think he understands where we are and where...

Threat Cancels Hagel-Karzai Press Conference

And not Karzai's statement that US, Taliban are colluding: Pentagon

(Newser) - A news conference with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai was cancelled because of a security threat, but the two men plan to meet privately. The cancellation comes a day after a suicide bomber on a bicycle struck outside the Afghan Defense Ministry, killing nine Afghan civilians...

Karzai Boots US Special Forces From Restive Wardak

Gives special forces 2 weeks to get out

(Newser) - Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai says all US special forces must leave eastern Wardak province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans. Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi says today's decision was taken during a meeting of the National Security Council because...

Obama to Announce Withdrawal of 34K Troops


 Obama to 
 Announce 
 Withdrawal of 
 34K Troops 
SOTU SOURCES SAY
Feb 12, 2013 9:30 AM CST

Obama to Announce Withdrawal of 34K Troops

Accelerated drawdown to feature in State of the Union address

(Newser) - President Obama intends to pull about half of the US' remaining troops in Afghanistan out of the country within a year, and will announce the move at tonight's State of the Union address, two sources familiar with the address tell the AP . Obama agreed to accelerate the US exit...

Hamid Karzai: US Is Giving Us a Drone Fleet

But division remains over Afghanistan troop withdrawal

(Newser) - In his first public comments since his visit to Washington, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced yesterday that the US is giving Afghanistan a fleet of unarmed aerial spy drones, the New York Times reports. A pleased Karzai said his meetings with President Obama gave him most of what he wanted;...

Obama, Karzai Agree to Speed Military Shift in Afghanistan

(Newser) - President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today they have agreed to speed up slightly the schedule for moving Afghanistan's security forces into the lead across the country, with US troops shifting fully to a support role. The leaders also said Obama agreed to place battlefield detainees...

US Considers Total Afghan Withdrawal

'Zero option' after 2014 raised before Karzai talks

(Newser) - How many US troops should stay in Afghanistan after the NATO combat mission ends next year? For the first time, officials are now saying zero is an option. Commanders recommend keeping a force of up to 15,000 in the country, but Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, speaking to...

Post-2014 Plan: Keep 10K Troops in Afghanistan

But Karzai must still agree

(Newser) - The White House has settled on the number of troops it wants to leave in Afghanistan post-2014: 10,000. Gen. John Allen had recommended keeping between 6,000 and 15,000 troops there after formal combat ends to train Afghan troops and fight terrorism. The Obama administration's final choice...

US Nears Decision on Post-2014 Afghan Presence

Gen. John Allen's recommendations under review as scandal grabs him

(Newser) - In the coming weeks, the US will make a decision on the number of troops to remain in Afghanistan after the planned drawdown in 2014, Reuters reports. "My hope is that we'll be able to complete this process in the next few weeks," says Defense Secretary Leon...

In New Insider Attack, US Toll in Afghanistan Hits 2K

Latest 'green on blue' strike pushes US to grisly milestone

(Newser) - An Afghan soldier turned his gun on American troops at a checkpoint in the country's east, killing two Americans and at least two fellow members of Afghanistan's army in a shooting that marked both the continuance of a disturbing trend of insider attacks and the 2,000th US...

US Hands Bagram Prison to Afghanistan

But Washington hasn't yet transferred all detainees

(Newser) - As the US continues prepping for a complete transfer of responsibilities in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Washington today handed formal control of the controversial Bagram prison over to Kabul. Formally known as Parwan Detention Facility, the country's only large US-run prison is located next to the Bagram...

US Is Selling Out Uzbekistan
 US Is Selling Out  Uzbekistan 
OPINION
Aug 15, 2012 1:12 PM CDT

US Is Selling Out Uzbekistan

We ignore strategic ally's human rights abuses: Former prisoner

(Newser) - The US media rarely mentions Uzbekistan, but human rights there are in a deplorable state. Just ask Sanjar Umarov, who was jailed and tortured for years for speaking out against the massacre of mostly peaceful protesters in 2005. "I was drugged, beaten, falsely accused of directing the uprising,"...

Afghan Police Bases US Built for $19M Sit Empty
Afghan Police Bases
US Built for $19M Sit Empty
new report
Jul 30, 2012 7:41 AM CDT

Afghan Police Bases US Built for $19M Sit Empty

Report: some infrastructure projects could even prove detrimental

(Newser) - When US inspectors looked at four border police bases in Afghanistan—funded by the US at a cost of almost $19 million—they found most of the facilities on three of those bases had either been abandoned or weren't being used as intended, the Wall Street Journal reports. The...

Getting Out of Afghanistan Will Cost Us Billions

Thanks to geography, it's an 'order of magnitude' harder than Iraq

(Newser) - Fighting a war isn't cheap, and in Afghanistan's case, neither is ending one. The US is set to get everyone out by 2014, but getting everything out will cost billions, says Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. "Combat is still going on. Terrible terrain. Narrow roads. Long way...

As US Leaves Afghanistan, China Moves In

China, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia all to jostle for influence in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The United States and coalition forces may be pulling out of Afghanistan, but China is happy to take their place. Beijing and Afghanistan are poised to sign a wide-ranging agreement this week to deepen ties, reports Reuters . The agreement will elevate "our existing, solid relationship to a new level,...

Afghans Take Over Night Raids
 Afghans Take Over Night Raids 
Apr 9, 2012 2:10 AM CDT

Afghans Take Over Night Raids

Deal big step in returning operations control to Afghan authorities

(Newser) - The US will end its deeply unpopular night raids in Afghanistan as part of a larger deal handing over special operations control to the Afghan military, reports the New York Times . The agreement puts Afghan forces in charge of night raids, and requires Afghan court warrants for raids. Usually, warrants...

US Support for Afghan War Plummets
 US Support for 
 Afghan War Plummets 
all-time low
Mar 27, 2012 4:00 AM CDT

US Support for Afghan War Plummets

69% say US shouldn't be there

(Newser) - American support for the war in Afghanistan has reached an all-time low, according to the latest New York Times / CBS poll. Some 69% of those polled believe the US shouldn't be fighting in Afghanistan, up from 53% just four months ago. Support has plunged among both Democrats and...

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