Afghanistan

Tumbling the Drone War

Virginia Prescott — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:27:14 +0000

We look into a Tumblr account that lends perspective to the drone war by using Google Earth. Joining us is blogger and artist James Bridle, creator of Dronestragram.

Where Soldiers Come From

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:10:41 +0000

A new documentary follows the poignant journey of a group of three small town friends to Afghanistan and back again.

The New Dogs of War

Virginia Prescott — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:12:34 +0000

When we call dogs ‘man’s best friend’, we’re typically referring to their value as companions and protectors - but canines have a long history of helping people with affairs far more solemn that playing fetch. For centuries, dogs have played a pivotal role in aiding the disabled, in hunting, for search and rescue operations, and for their service in police and military applications. After a long hiatus, U.S. bomb-sniffing dogs were re-introduced to the battlefield in 2007. There are now some six-hundred military dogs deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The War Within the War for Afghanistan

Laura Knoy — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:00:00 +0000

An inside look at the war in Afghanistan. Recently, an increasing number of American troops have died at the hands of their Afghan counterparts, raising questions about American efforts there.

After The U.S. Leaves, Who Pays For Afghan Forces?

Larry Abramson — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 06:59:00 +0000

This week, NATO Cabinet ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, will try to tackle the problem of Afghan security. The basic plan for bringing American troops home from Afghanistan is to let Afghan security forces fight for their own country. But there's a hitch — finding a way to pay for the Afghan army.

Right now, the Afghan national security forces are growing, and will surpass 350,000 troops and police later this year. For the West, that's the idea — once those troops are well trained, Western forces can leave.

Phillip Walker and an Economic Look at Afghanistan

Laura Knoy — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Noted Granite State attorney and advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Finance explores the economic and political future of Afghanistan.

Dreams Of A Mining Future On Hold In Afghanistan

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:13:00 +0000

Afghanistan faces the daunting prospect of a drastic reduction in foreign aid, which currently makes up about 90 percent of the country's revenue. Some have seen an economic life raft in geological surveys that indicate huge deposits of copper, iron, uranium and lithium in various parts of the country.

Grieving Afghan Father: 'All My Dreams Are Buried'

Quil Lawrence — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Afghans say they're so inured to civilians killed in wars that they bury their dead and move on. That's not so easy for Muhammad Wazir. He lost his mother, his wife, a sister-in-law, a brother, a nephew, his four daughters and two of his sons in last week's mass shooting in two villages.

"My little boy, Habib Shah, is the only one left alive, and I love him very much," says Wazir.

The boy cried next to his father as Wazir spoke by cellphone. The 4-year-old is his favorite, Wazir says, and that's why he took the boy as he traveled to the eastern side of Kandahar province last week.

U.S., Pakistan At Impasse Over Afghan Supply Routes

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:55:00 +0000

Nearly four months after Pakistan closed the main supply lines for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the shutdown is creating hardship for Pakistani truckers and is forcing the U.S. to turn to costly and less-efficient alternatives.

The Pakistani move came after an errant U.S. airstrike left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead along the Afghan frontier back in November.

Shortly after that episode, the Shirin Jinnah terminal in the southern port city of Karachi ground to a halt. Normally it's a busy place, with oil tankers rumbling through the facility day and night.

Killings A Blow To U.S. Strategy In Afghanistan

Tom Bowman — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 04:01:00 +0000

The killings of some 16 civilians in Afghanistan on Sunday allegedly by a U.S. soldier are raising new questions about U.S. military strategy: whether the surge of American troops worked, and whether the U.S. troops have won over the Afghan people or alienated them.

The place where the killings happened was a "no-go zone" for American and even Afghan troops as recently as two years ago — it was Taliban country.

That changed when soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division swept into the rural district in the dead of night in November 2010. Back then, Capt.

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:43:00 +0000

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

The woman, who asked not to give her name, says she tells most of her family that she works with a foreign aid organization.

In Mock Village, A New Afghan Mission Takes Shape

Tom Bowman — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 05:01:00 +0000

At the Fort Polk military base in the pine forests of central Louisiana, the Army has created a miniature version of Afghanistan — with mock villages and American soldiers working alongside Afghan role-players.

This is the training ground for a new American approach in Afghanistan as the U.S. begins to look ahead to the goal of bringing home the U.S. forces by the end of 2014. The idea is that Afghan forces have to be good enough to defend their country against the Taliban, and to make that happen, the U.S. Army is creating small U.S.

U.S. Apology Over Qurans Fails To Stop Afghan Riots

Quil Lawrence — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:51:00 +0000

President Obama apologized in a letter and Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for calm.

But that was not enough to keep Afghans from protesting violently for a third day following word that several copies of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, were burned at a large NATO base outside Kabul.

The latest incident resembled other cases in recent years, where rumors that a Quran was desecrated — even thousands of miles away in Florida or Guantanamo Bay — ignited deadly riots in Afghanistan.

This time American officials acknowledged the desecrations took place. They say U.S.

Afghans Hedge Bets Amid Mixed Messages From U.S.

Quil Lawrence — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

After a long hiatus, the Afghan and U.S. governments this week reopened talks on a strategic partnership that will determine how many American troops stay in Afghanistan past the end of the NATO mission in 2014.

The resumption of talks comes amid a flurry of contradictory statements from U.S. officials and NATO members about the shape of the foreign mission in Afghanistan. When President Obama first arrived at the White House, he said troops would begin pulling out in the summer of 2011. Then a NATO meeting pushed the end of the mission to 2014.

Afghans Worried About Early Exit Of French Troops

Ahmad Shafi — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:01:00 +0000

Uncertainties surrounding the future of the NATO mission in Afghanistan are of particular concern for an area near Kabul that French troops have controlled for the past decade. France now plans to withdraw its army a year ahead of schedule, sparking fears of a potential crisis in Kapisa province.

On a plateau amid the towering Hindu Kush mountains, Hukum Khan, a 31-year-old Afghan farmer, says the presence of French troops hasn't made much difference in his life in the past 10 years.

Khan has brought his horse to a scenic bridge in Kapisa.