(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)U.S. Marines advance in southern Afghanistan
U.S. Marines pressed into a remote Taliban stronghold on Saturday with their first major assault in Afghanistan since President Barack Obama earmarked 30,000 more troops to try to turn the tide on the Taliban insurgency.
Afghanistan’s Army
Even as he announced plans to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, President Obama said his goal is to quickly drive back the Taliban, hand over control to the Afghans and begin to withdraw American forces.
India, Pakistan and the Battle for Afghanistan
The road to success for President Obama's Afghanistan strategy runs through India, goes an increasingly familiar refrain. That's because reversing the Taliban's momentum requires getting rid of the movement's sanctuary in Pakistan, where the insurgent leadership is known to be based in and around the city of Quetta. But while Pakistan is aggressively tackling its domestic Taliban, it has consistently declined to act against Afghan Taliban groups based on its soil — because it sees the Afghan Taliban as a useful counterweight to what it believes is the dominant influence in today's Afghanistan of Pakistan's arch-enemy, India. Unless India can be persuaded to take steps to ease tensions with Pakistan, some suggest, Pakistan will not be willing to shut down the Afghan Taliban.
Car bomb kills 3 near KFC in NW Pakistan
A car bomb exploded Saturday near a KFC fast-food restaurant in Pakistan's main northwestern city, killing at least three people and leaving others trapped in a blazing building where many lawyers have offices, officials said.
Similarities to Iraq Surge Plan Mask Risks in Afghanistan
President Obama strongly opposed President George W. Bush’s surge in Iraq during his presidential campaign, and even now he has never publicly acknowledged that it was largely successful.
Senate Report Revisits Osama bin Laden's Great Escape
Less than a month after the 9/11 attacks, the military began bombing al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. It was the start of a campaign orchestrated by the CIA and Special Forces troops that quickly ousted the ruling Taliban from power but led to an insurgency that continues today.
Iraqi counterterror chief falls to his prey
He compared al-Qaida in Iraq to wolves, urging that the terrorist group be crushed since he believed its members would never reject violence. But the wolves got to the Iraqi counterterrorism officer first.
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