Author: Robert H. Reid
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Petraeus to face soldier complaints over war rules
KABUL, Afghanistan — Crouched in a field of opium poppies, a young Marine lieutenant pleaded over the radio for an airstrike on a compound where he believed a sniper was firing at his troops. Request denied. Civilians might be inside and the Marines couldn’t see a muzzle flash to be absolutely sure the gunman was…
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AP tally: 1,000th U.S. military death in Afghan war
KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military suffered its 1,000th death of the Afghan war Friday, according to an Associated Press count, when NATO reported a service member was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. A NATO statement did not identify the victim’s name or nationality, but U.S. spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said the…
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Afghan warlord re-emerges despite West’s demands
KABUL — He is among Afghanistan’s most notorious warlords, accused of widespread abuses including the massacre of thousands of Taliban prisoners. Now he’s back, reinstated by President Hamid Karzai in a top army post despite Western demands for sweeping reform. Karzai this month restored Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum as chief of staff to the commander…
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Karzai extends olive branch to Taliban
KABUL — A confident President Hamid Karzai on Monday offered peace talks to Taliban militants if they renounce violence and called for a new relationship with the West if he wins a second term in next month’s presidential election. Karzai is considered the favorite in the Aug. 20 vote. But his chances could hinge on…
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Four US troops die in deadliest month in Afghanistan
KABUL — A roadside bomb killed four American troops in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, driving the July death toll for U.S. forces to the highest monthly level of the war. The latest deaths brought to at least 30 the number of American service members who have died in Afghanistan this month — two more than…
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Troops among dead in bombing in Mosul
BAGHDAD • A suicide truck driver detonated a ton of explosives near a police headquarters in the northern city of Mosul on Friday, killing five American soldiers in the deadliest attack against U.S. troops in more than a year. The U.S. military said Iraqi police were the bomber’s target and that the Americans were caught…