Pentagon Wants to Keep Running Its Afghan Drug War From Blackwater’s HQ
• Spencer Ackerman via WIRED.comThe U.S. war in Afghanistan is supposed to be winding down. Its contractor-led drug war? Not so much.
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Afghanistan
Faster than NATO, France ends Afghan combat role
• APFrance on Tuesday ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, pulling hundreds of troops from a base in a volatile region northeast of Kabul and fulfilling promises to end its combat role on a faster track than other NATO allies.
Afghans Demand U.S. Hand Over Its Major Battlefield Prison
• Spencer Ackerman via WIRED.comThe U.S. military has promised to hand over control of its largest battlefield jail to the Afghan government — eventually. The Afghan government has decided it’s waited long enough.
Karzai orders ‘full Afghanization’ of U.S.-run Bagram prison
• Washington PostPresident Karzai has ordered his aides to institute the “full Afghanization” of the U.S.-run prison at Bagram air base, charging Americans are continuing to detain Afghans despite a bilateral agreement in March to transfer all prisoners to Afghan aut
Taliban Oops Reveals Mailing List IDs
• ABC NewsSomewhere out there, Mullah Omar must be shaking his head. In a Dilbert-esque faux pax, a Taliban spokesperson sent out a routine email last week with one notable difference.He publicly CC'd the names of everyone on his mailing list.
New US commander in Afghanistan pledges to stay past Obama’s deadline
• http://rt.comThe incoming top commander in charge of the United States’ military efforts in Afghanistan made remarks to Congress on Thursday that suggest he sees a US presence extending overseas well past US President Barack Obama’s deadline of 2014.
Newest US Afghan Commander sees U.S. forces in Afghanistan post-drawdown
• Washington PostPresident Obama’s pick to be the next commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan said Thursday that he foresees maintaining American forces and equipment in the country after international contingents leave by the end of 2014.
Army Seeks Death Penalty in Afghan Massacre
• New York TimesA military prosecutor said the evidence against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, presented in a pretrial inquiry into the killings of 16 Afghan civilians, was so damning that the case should go forward as a capital crime.
Afghan Warlord’s Call to Arms Rattles Officials
• New York TimesOne of the most powerful mujahedeen commanders in Afghanistan is calling on his followers to reorganize and defend the country against the Taliban as Western militaries withdraw, in a public demonstration of faltering confidence in the government
Forget Everything You've Heard About 'Winning' In Afghanistan
• http://www.businessinsider.com, Gary OwenIt’s been a bit of a rough week here in Afghanistan, punctuated by at least one good thing: the first professional boxing match in Afghanistan in over 30 years.
Soldiers recall massacre suspect's behavior in Afghanistan
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com, By Kim MurphyAn Army staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in a middle-of-the-night shooting rampage returned to his base midway through the killings, woke up a fellow soldier waving his gun in his face and told him to "smell his weapon."
U.S. soldier charged in Kandahar massacre showed no remorse, fellow soldier says
• Washington PostAn Army staff sergeant accused of massacring 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan in the spring showed no remorse as he was taken into custody, one of his comrades testified Monday during the soldier’s first day in court.
Afghanistan 'will be unable to run military bases post Nato withdrawal'
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk, By Ben FarmerAfghanistan will probably be unable to keep running the military bases its international backers have spent billions building after Nato troops leave, a US Congressional report has said.
Man in Afghan uniform kills 2 British troops
• usatoday.comThe attack by a man in an Afghan police uniform killed two NATO troops, further straining relations between Afghan and international forces.
The Afghan War: Just the Facts
• http://www.thedailybell.com, by Staff ReportA suicide bomber targeted worshippers who had gathered at a mosque in north Afghanistan for prayers to mark Eid al-Adha, killing at least 41 people.
Afghan Policeman Kills Two US Troops in Insider Attack
• http://news.antiwar.com, by Jason DitzOfficials Offer Few Details on Uruzgan Province Killings
Afghanistan mosque suicide bomb attack kills at least 41
• http://www.bbc.co.ukA suicide bomber targeted worshippers who had gathered at a mosque in north Afghanistan for prayers to mark Eid al-Adha, killing at least 41 people.
Army Suicides This Year Exceed 2012 Combat Deaths in Afghanistan
• http://cnsnews.com, By Patrick BurkeThe number of suicides among U.S. Army active duty and reserve personnel in 2012 is higher than the total combined military fatalities from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan over the same timeframe.
US Soldiers Guarding the Poppy Fields in Afghanistan for the CIA
• http://www.project.nsearch.com, by Glenn CanadyUS Soldiers Guarding the Poppy Fields in Afghanistan for the CIA
Myths of Iraq and Afghanistan
• http://www.chicagotribune.com, Steve ChapmanWhen Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the other day the U.S. war in Afghanistan is "succeeding" and "has turned an important corner," I could have sworn I had heard that before. Where could it have been?
Bomb kills 19 Afghan wedding partygoers
• http://www.reuters.comA roadside bomb killed at least 19 people, mostly women and children, who were on their way to a wedding in Afghanistan's north on Friday, local police officials said.
NATO ‘Regrets’ Killing Children in Southern Afghan Attack
• http://news.antiwar.com, by Jason DitzBacks Off Speculation Kids Might Have Been Taliban
US Begins Talks to Extend Troop Presence in Afghanistan Beyond 2014
• antiwar.comReports say Washington is vying for an agreement with Kabul that would keep tens of thousands of troops there until 2024
State Department official: Negotiations to extend U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan starting soon
• Foreign PolicyDespite statements by Vice President Joe Biden, the State Department is about to begin formal negotiations over the extension of U.S. troops past 2014, a top State Department official said Tuesday.
UK may speed troop pullout in 2013 over Marines shooting scandal
• RT.comThe UK plans to pull troops out of Afghanistan in 2013 following the arrest of 9 Marines for the suspected murder of an unarmed militant. Britain is also under pressure to quit the costly war as the economic downturn has drained military coffers.
A U.S. platoon awaits the end of Afghan war
• Washington PostThere is an uneasy silence in the dark chow tent. In a few months, the U.S. Army will bulldoze its portion of the base, part of America’s slow withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan. All that will remain here in this isolated place is a small A
US Drone Strike Kills 16 in Pakistan’s Orakzai Agency
• http://news.antiwar.com, by Jason DitzSeveral Afghans Reportedly Among the Slain
How the US Quietly Lost the IED War in Afghanistan
• http://original.antiwar.com, by Gareth PorterAlthough the surge of “insider attacks” on U.S.-NATO forces has dominated coverage of the war in Afghanistan in 2012, an even more important story has been quietly unfolding:
US Delegation's Message of Peace Received Warmly in Pakistan
• www.commondreams.orgCitizen diplomacy in Pakistan’s tribal areas: "You are welcome!"
See What Happened When 'Red Air' Stranded A Bunch Of Marines In Taliban Territory
• http://www.businessinsider.com, Geoffrey IngersollI was with the Marines in April when we assaulted a Taliban jump-off point just east of the Musaqela District in Helmand, Afghanistan.
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