Afghanistan
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Difficult but the war in Afghanistan can succeed. The words of Richard Holbrook, the top U.S envoy in Afghanistan and Pakistan yesterday before Congress at an oversight hearing on money being spent on the nine year old war in Afghanistan. Lawmakers expressed concern about corruption that\'s eaten up millions of dollars. Holbrooke said this is the toughest job he\'s ever had.
July 29, 2010 -
$21 billion in questioned and unsupported costs, human trafficking allegations covered in latest hearing of bipartisan commission.
July 28, 2010 -
The Afghan Taliban leadership is facing more pressure from the U.S. The U.S. Treasury Department will freeze the militants\' assets, ban travel and trigger an arms embargo. It follows similar action by the United Nations earlier this week, and comes after calls from Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Afghanistan. the U.S. and U.N. sanctions prohibit any financial transactions of the terror leaders in U.N. member countries, putting additional pressure on Pakistan to take broader actions against the Taliban militants.
July 26, 2010 -
Marine Colonel William Maxwell, director of the joint operation center in Kabul, joined the Federal Drive from Afghanistan with an update
July 12, 2010 -
Gen. David Petraeus is a little bit closer to becoming the next commander of the Afghanistan war. The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted in favor of the appointment. It now goes to the full Senate. He will replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal. He was fired last week for making disparaging remarks in an interview about administration officials. Petraeus could be confirmed by the weekend.
July 01, 2010 -
Lawmakers are criticizing U.S. military officials for failing to heed warnings about the role they say a Pentagon transportation contract plays in fueling extortion and corruption in Afghanistan. Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney says the companies hired to move food, water, fuel and ammunition to American troops stationed at bases across Afghanistan are forced to pay warlords millions of dollars to ensure safe passage. The spoils may then be funneled to the Taliban and insurgent forces, potentially making the U.S. an unwitting financier of the enemy.
July 01, 2010 -
Gen. Stanley McChrystal loses his job after remarks to freelance reporter that reflected poorly on his civilian superiors.
June 23, 2010 -
A U.S. military official in Afghanistan called the claims the Taliban is planting HIV tainted needles along with IEDS, \"absolutely\" ridiculous. A former British military officer reportedly exposed the tactic to a U.K. news outlet. Questions have arisen about where the Taliban would get the needles and how they would know they\'re infected with HIV. British military explosive ordinance disposal teams have reportedly have been issued special gloves to handle IEDs.
June 10, 2010 -
The Taliban denies any involvement, but for the third time in two months, school girls in Afghanistan have fallen ill. Authorities say they were poisoned with some kind of substance. The most up to date reporting from the region suggests the 14 girls in this incident were gassed. The girls were rushed to a medical facility in the Sar e Pol province in Northern Afghanistan. Authorities say they don\'t have any suspects. Almost 100 girls and teachers have been attacked this way in recent months.
June 08, 2010 -
Last year there were 90 - this year there are 102. Stars on the wall at CIA headquarters. 12 Stars were added yesterday to commemorate the agency\'s fallen heroes. Seven of the 12 died in Khost, Afghanistan last December. The other five of those killed died engaged in clandestine operations. According to CIA Director Leon Panetta, the sensitivity of their work requires that the nature and their names of course remain classified and secret.
June 07, 2010 -
U.S. military tanker aircraft have suspended refueling operations at Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan. A new contract is being renegotiated with interim government in that country. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said refueling for KC-135 aerial refueling tankers had been shifted to a new refueling location, which was not disclosed for security reasons. Whitman said the move has not disrupted U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, and the movement of troops and supplies through Manas have not be affected.
June 01, 2010 -
The brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Ahmad Wali Karzai has become a target of NATO --so to speak. British Major General Nick Carter, a top commander in Afghanistan said his plan is to reduce his role in the day-to-day governing of Kandahar. The president\'s brother has been accused of ties to drug traffickers for many years and represents an impediment to transparency in Afghanistan. Carter\'s goals is to see to it that the actual governor of the Kandahar province gets to govern.
June 01, 2010 -
The Senate is considering a $60 billion that incorporates $30 billion for President Barack Obama\'s troop surge in Afghanistan with more than $5 billion to replenish disaster aid accounts, provide Haitian earthquake relief, and make a down payment on aid to flood-drenched Tennessee and Rhode Island. The Associate Press reports the must-pass legislation is the only appropriations bill likely to advance to Obama\'s desk until the fall and is a tempting target for Democrats seeking to add money for a summer jobs program or to help to local school district to retain teachers.
May 17, 2010 -
President Barack Obama said Wednesday he was confident that U.S. troops could start to return home as planned from Afghanistan in July 2011 but he predicted a tough fight in the coming months. \"There is going to be some tough fighting,\" Obama said at a joint news conference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai,
May 13, 2010 -
Raids on suspected Taliban hideouts would probably be best handled by Afghan forces as opposed to U.S special forces. Major-General Charles Cleveland, Commander of Special Operations for U.S. Central Command says also they have to avoid killing and wounding civilians. At a conference yesterday in Jordan. Cleveland also said, \"Raids and kill/capture operations remain important, but they have to be precise.\" Special forces are only permitted to carry out raids at night when Afghan forces are with them.
May 11, 2010