Topic: Afghanistan

Hamid Karzai Would Prefer If That Sweet CIA Money Kept Coming, Thanks

AP

Afghan president Hamid Karzai isn't ready to give up his financially beneficial relationship with the CIA just yet. No, he wants those backpacks full from cash to keep coming.

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 30, 2013

The Bagram Airfield Crash Now Has This Horrifying Video Evidence

We still don't know much about the seven people who died when a cargo plane crashed Monday at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, but dashboard camera footage surfaced Tuesday morning — and it provides more answers than you may even feel comfortable watching.

Comments | 126,600 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Apr 29, 2013

Afghanistan's Dangerous Bagram Airfield Just Had Its Deadliest Crash

A Boeing 747 jet enroute to Dubai crashed and caught fire moments after lifting off on Monday morning from Bagram Airfield in northeast Afghanistan. Seven crew members were killed.

Comments | 39,917 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 29, 2013

Three Things the CIA Is Doing to Undermine American Values

No one is getting off the island during the Guantanamo hunger strike, where there aren't review boards. And did we mention the latest on drones and financing Afghan warlords? Here are a few core democratic principles the CIA is glossing over these days.

Comments | 1,179 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 28, 2013

The CIA Gave Karzai Bags Full of Cash for Over a Decade

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has a sugar daddy, and its name is the Central Intelligence Agency. Or at least it had a sugar daddy.

Comments | 3,929 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 7, 2013

Botched Attack Kills State Department Employee in Afghanistan

An assassination attempt in Afghanistan on Sunday resulted in the first death of a State Department employee since the war there began. 

Comments | 1,978 Views

By Cora Currier, ProPublica

Apr 5, 2013

What Does the U.S. Pay for Accidentally Killing a Civilian in a Drone Strike?

The U.S. drone war remains cloaked in secrecy, and as a result, questions swirl around it. Who exactly can be targeted? When can a U.S. citizen be killed? Another, perhaps less frequently asked question: What happens when innocent civilians are killed in drone strikes?

Comments | 357 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Mar 27, 2013

Trimming the Times

Friends and Foes at the Supreme Court, Spam Battles, and a Yoga Sex Scandal

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 700 Views

By Connor Simpson

Mar 25, 2013

John Kerry's Surprise Tour Takes Him to Afghanistan to Smooth Things Over

The Secretary of State made another unannounced visit to a country in the Middle East on Monday morning. This time he's in Afghanistan to try and make nice over with President Hamid Karzai, whose relationship with the U.S. has been contentious of late — and that's putting it nicely.

Comments | 174 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Mar 12, 2013

Trimming the Times

Suicide in Afghanistan, Papal Smoke, and Rat Sterilization

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 11, 2013

Hagel Speaks Out on Taliban Collusion as Afghan Shootings Go Both Ways

An attack at a police station in Afghanistan's Wardak province that reportedly killed two American soldiers is only the most recent challenge faced by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as he visits the country — including accusations that the U.S. is conspiring with the Taliban.

Comments | 517 Views

By Connor Simpson

Mar 9, 2013

Chuck Hagel's First Afghanistan Trip Got Off to a Scary Start

Chuck Hagel's first visit to Afghanistan as Defense Secretary got off to a scary start as two separate suicide bomb attacks greeted him. One targeted Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, but, thankfully, Hagel was nowhere near the building at the time. 

Comments | 517 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 28, 2013

The Worst Argument Against Women in Combat Yet: They're Sad Rape Victims

We've heard a lot of falsehoods on the topic this year, from women being too weak to men not wanting to poop in front of them. But The National Review's Heather Mac Donald has a new one: Women can't serve in combat because when they get raped by fellow soldiers, they get too depressed.

Comments | 2,758 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 24, 2013

Afghanistan Just Banned U.S. Troops from an Entire Province

Afghanistan's National Security Council ordered all NATO and American troops out of the Wardak province on Sunday, following allegations that American Special Operations forces tortured and murdered locals.

Comments | 2,931 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Feb 22, 2013

Stat of the Day

8,000 NATO Troops Will Stay in Afghanistan Past 2014

President Obama's exit plan for Afghanistan is growing clearer — but it's not yet certain how many American troops will bear the weight of maintaining peace in post-war Afghanistan. And there's disagreement at a big NATO meeting with Leon Panetta.

Comments

By David Wagner

Jan 23, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Jill and Scott Kelley on privacy and Petraeus, Mark Bittman on Coke's obesity awareness ads, Simon Jenkins on Prince Harry's Afghanistan story, Sarah Chayes on Benghazi and bureaucrats, and Aaron David Miller on Israel's election results.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 22, 2013

The Taliban Says Prince Harry Is a Crazy 'Coward'

Prince Harry may have humble-bragged his way home from Afghanistan, all full of war stories and gunned-down insurgents, but the Taliban isn't having any of it.

Comments | 1,403 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 14, 2013

On Its Way Out, the US Will Give Afghanistan Its Very Own Fleet of Drones

In his first media appearance since visiting President Obama in Washington, Hamid Karzai announced that the United States had agreed to give his country a fleet of drones.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 11, 2013

Obama and Karzai Stress Transition in Afghanistan, No Specifics Allowed

As President Obama danced around questions about troop levels, he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai continued to press their message at this afternoon's press briefing — American soldiers are about to be in support mode, and the withdrawal is coming... soon enough.

Comments | 690 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jan 9, 2013

Trimming the Times

Iranian Bank Hackers, the Fate of the Dreamliner, and a Poetic Inauguration

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 9, 2013

The U.S. May Not Leave Any Troops Behind in Afghanistan

After previously suggesting that some American forces could remain in Afghanistan for decades to come, the Pentagon says it's considering the possibility that no U.S. forces could be stationed there after 2014.

Comments | 862 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 7, 2013

Even Stanley McChrystal Realizes How Much the World Hates Our Drones

Now that he's teaching at Yale and writing memoirs, Stanley McChrystal is getting brutally honest about the ethically questionable war he helped architect in Afghanistan and environs.

Comments | 4,812 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jan 4, 2013

Trimming the Times

Insider Attacks in Afghanistan, Yoga in Prison, and Light in Art

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 862 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 21, 2012

Urinating on a Dead Taliban Insurgent Only Costs You $500, Military Court Says

The Marine in charge of the squad caught urinating on dead members of the Taliban last year — on video — has been sentenced, and, well, all he's getting is a $500 fine and a demotion.

Comments | 517 Views

By David Wagner

Dec 11, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Ralph Benko on Paul Ryan's decline, Jonathan Chait on Marco Rubio's rise, Pankaj Mishra on Asia's insurgents, Jonathan Steele on Afghanistan, and Noam Scheiber on jumping the cliff.

Comments | 3,621 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Dec 11, 2012

Trimming the Times

A Dean's Scandalous Life and Death, Childhood Obesity, and Right-to-Work

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 2,703 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Dec 10, 2012

Navy SEAL Killed Rescuing a Kidnapped Doctor in Afghanistan

A member of the Navy's elite SEAL Team Six was killed on Sunday, during a mission that rescued an American doctor from kidnappers in Afghanistan. 

Comments | 4,663 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 27, 2012

Trimming the Times

How to Use a Robotic Arm, Our Newest Saint, Defining Personality Disorder

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 562 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 26, 2012

Trimming the Times

America's Future in Afghanistan, Oprah, 'The Nutcracker'

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 899 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Nov 21, 2012

Explosions Near the US Embassy In Kabul Are Not a Sign of Progress

Just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday local time, an explosion in the diplomatic neighborhood of Kabul put U.S. Embassy workers on high alert.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Nov 20, 2012

California Homegrown Terror Cell: Could They Have Done Real Harm?

Four men in California have been arrested for "plotting" to join the Taliban and kill Americans overseas, but like many of the conspiracies foiled by federal officials, these terrorists were far from completing any missions. 

Comments | 9,075 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 19, 2012

Trimming the Times

Outgunned Hamas, Displaced Pets, and 'Thinspiration'

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 879 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Nov 13, 2012

Trimming the Times

Oxen, Jane Doe, and Herman Wouk

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 172 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Oct 31, 2012

Trimming the Times

The Lives Sandy Took, the Brooklyn Nets, and an Ode to NY1

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 26, 2012

Afghanistan Mosque Hit By Suicide Bomb as Muslim Holiday Begins

A suicide bomber in attacked a mosque in Afghanistan on Friday, just as worshipers were meeting to mark the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Comments | 862 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Oct 17, 2012

Contractors Are Still Partying on the Job in Kabul

While the war in Afghanistan continues, so too does the contractor partying. Today ABC News has posted exclusive video showing two security men from Jorge Scientific getting wasted in Kabul.

Comments | 1,314 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Oct 16, 2012

Trimming the Times

Hofstra, Bomb-Sniffing Dogs, and 'Glengarry Glen Ross'

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 1,158 Views

By John Hudson

Oct 15, 2012

Our Allies May Be Arming the Next Osama bin Laden

For months, the U.S. has been helping Arab allies coordinate arms shipments to rebel fighters in Syria. Unfortunately, most of those weapons are going to radical Islamists instead of secular opposition groups. 

Comments | 3,887 Views

By John Hudson

Oct 4, 2012

What's the Real Cause of 'Insider' Attacks in Afghanistan?

In a surprise statement Thursday, a top Afghan official said that most "insider" attacks in Afghanistan are caused by Taliban infiltrators, a view that directly contradicts repeated claims by the Pentagon.

Comments | 221 Views

By John Hudson

Oct 2, 2012

U.S. Plans in Afghanistan Are Falling Apart

It's a grim morning of news from the Afghan war. While hopes are fading for a peace deal with the Taliban, deadly "insider" attacks threaten to force an early retreat of NATO forces before 2014. 

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Oct 2, 2012

Trimming the Times

Seattle Cops on Twitter, Skulls, and Hunting

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 517 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 1, 2012

Suicide Bomber Kills 14 As Afghanistan Continues to Deteriorate

A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform attacked a NATO unit on foot patrol Monday killing 14 people in the latest deadly assault on the beleaguered coalition.

Comments | 172 Views

By Connor Simpson

Sep 30, 2012

Latest 'Insider' Attack Marks 2,000th U.S. Death in Afghan War

There was yet another green-on-blue attack in Afghanistan on Sunday in which two Americans and three Afghans were killed. The death of a U.S. soldier brings the total number of troop deaths in the Afghan war to over 2,000. 

Comments | 1,581 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Sep 27, 2012

The Videos You Shouldn't (and Probably Couldn't) Try at Home

Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.

Comments | 896 Views

By John Hudson

Sep 27, 2012

Why the Afghan Surge Was a Failure in One Chart

When the U.S. troop surge wound down in Afghanistan last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta slapped a positive gloss on the operation, saying it succeeded in "reversing the Taliban momentum." While some anti-war critics questioned that outlook, one of the most damning assessments of the surge's efficacy now comes in the form of a chart by NATO itself.

Comments | 1,601 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Sep 26, 2012

Trimming the Times

Cheating, the N.F.L. Commissioner, and Pop-Punk

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 263 Views

By John Hudson

Sep 24, 2012

Propaganda Parade

Taliban Poetry Is Not Very Beautiful

In today's world tour of state media: The violent poetry of the Taliban is compiled in a book, Vietnam cracks down on "anti-state propaganda" and Iran follows suit. We begin in Afghanistan. 

Comments | 1,035 Views

By John Hudson

Sep 21, 2012

The U.S. Suffered Its Worst Airpower Loss Since Vietnam Last Week and No One Really Noticed

The Taliban attack on an air base in southern Afghanistan on Friday drew coverage for the way the insurgents cloaked themselves in U.S. army uniforms to gain a tactical advantage, but few have taken note of the historical proportions of the damage inflicted.

Comments | 136,534 Views

By John Hudson

Sep 21, 2012

A Timeline of the Benghazi Attacks

While the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi has dominated headlines for more than a week, the facts of what actually happened during the Sept. 11 assault are still far from settled. But new media reporting is beginning to piece together the sequence of events.

Comments | 4,002 Views

By John Hudson

Sep 21, 2012

The Troop Surge in Afghanistan Is Officially Over

It never lived up to the renown of the Iraq War troop surge, and now it's officially over.

Comments

By Esther Zuckerman

Sep 19, 2012

Trimming the Times

Wisconsin, a Subway Ad, and Le Cirque

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 1,207 Views

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