VOA News Carla Babb July 12, 2016 BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN—U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is in Afghanistan, just three days after international leaders agreed to support the war-torn country with about 12,000 NATO troops and funding for Afghan National Defense and Security Forces through 2020. Carter has met with President Ashraf Ghani and
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 9, 2016 WARSAW — NATO signaled unity in support for Afghanistan and a mix of “defense and deterrence” with dialogue to handle an assertive Russia at a crucial summit, seeking to address an array of challenges faced by the Western alliance and the wider world. At a two-day summit that
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan’s oxymoronic divided “Unity” government is finding temporary succor in the U.S. and NATO expanding their military purview in the face of a Taliban movement on the march. President Barack Obama is worried about his legacy and does not want to see more Taliban gains on his watch, but his policy shift is unlikely
VOA News Ayaz Gul June 16, 2016 ISLAMABAD—NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan says it is concerned about recent military clashes between Afghan and Pakistani border forces, and is urging both countries to resolve differences through diplomatic negotiations. Afghan and Pakistani forces have intermittently exchanged heavy gunfire since last Sunday, leaving at least four soldiers dead
VOA News Carla Babb May 18, 2016 BRUSSELS—Despite the uncertainty about U.S. future force numbers in Afghanistan, most NATO military chiefs say they are not planning to withdraw their forces from the war-torn country, the chairman of NATO’s military committee said Wednesday. Petr Pavel told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels that “there was a
Business Insider: It was just a few months ago that the first A-29 Super Tucanos touched down in Afghanistan, and a new video of live fire drills gives us a rare look at the Afghan pilot’s progress since then. As part of NATO’s Operation Resolute Support to provide support and security to the Afghan National Government in the
VOA News Ayaz Gul May 7, 2016 ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN—The NATO-led military coalition said two of its soldiers were killed Saturday in southern Afghanistan when two individuals wearing local forces uniforms opened fire at a military compound. A statement from the international Resolute Support mission in Kabul said its members returned fire and killed the shooters.
VOA News Ayaz Gul March 15, 2016 ISLAMABAD—Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says his security forces’ improved capabilities have enabled them to disperse Islamic State (IS) loyalists and deter the Taliban from threatening security, particularly in northern Afghanistan in the spring fighting season. “I can confidently say that in Nangarhar, Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) is
The New Yorker: America’s war in Afghanistan, which is now in its fifteenth year, presents a mystery: how could so much money, power, and good will have achieved so little? Congress has appropriated almost eight hundred billion dollars for military operations in Afghanistan; a hundred and thirteen billion has gone to reconstruction, more than was spent
Anti-War.com: In a New York Times op-ed published on February 21, former CIA director, Air Force general, and “Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror” author Michael Hayden advocated for the continuing use of drone warfare. He urges the public and implicitly, the next U.S. president, to “embrace” this policy for