Afghanistan

US open to Afghan Taliban talks

Barack Obama has hinted that the US could talk to moderate elements of the Taliban as part of its strategy in Afghanistan. The US president’s words come ahead of a visit on Monday by Joe Biden, the US vice president, to Europe for consultations with America’s Nato allies on the …

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Nosedive in Afghan-US relations

Relations between President Karzai’s Afghan government and Washington are at an all-time low. As Richard Holbrooke – President Obama’s envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan – prepares to make his first visit to the region since being appointed, the BBC’s Ian Pannell in Kabul looks at why the relationship has soured. …

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US ‘not winning in Afghanistan’

US President Barack Obama has said the US is not winning in Afghanistan, saying it is more complex than Iraq. In an interview with the New York Times, he said reaching out to the Taleban could be an option, in the same way outreach had worked in Iraq. However, the …

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Obama’s Turkey visit to focus on Iraq, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — For one of his first foreign visits, President Barack Obama will call on NATO ally Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country viewed as critical to aiding the U.S. pullout from Iraq, turning around the Afghanistan war and blocking Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The invasion of Iraq has strained the long …

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Voters back Obama on Afghanistan surge

A majority of US voters support President Barack Obama’s decision to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan and give him high marks on his handling of foreign policy, according to a poll released yesterday. But the survey showed public opinion divided over whether Obama should heed a request from …

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Afghanistan’s defense minister warns against U.S. pullback

Afghanistan’s defense minister warned Thursday that the Obama administration’s proposed changes in U.S. war strategy risk undermining Kabul’s civilian government because they appear to scale back U.S. goals in the country.Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was troubled by recent comments from senior U.S. officials that they were “lowering expectations” in …

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Isolation shields Afghanistan from financial crisis

KABUL (Reuters) – Devastated by nearly three decades of war, Afghanistan‘s isolation from world trade and global finance might for once be to its advantage, shielding the country from the economic and financial meltdown abroad. Sandwiched between Kabul’s main mosque and a foul-smelling river is the teeming money market where …

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Clashes, motorbike bomb kill 32 in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – A bomb exploded in Afghanistan and killed two civilians while 28 militants and two Afghan soldiers died in clashes, the authorities said The blast and the fighting on Tuesday took place in the south of the country, a Taliban stronghold where about 17,000 US troops are expected …

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Three British troops killed in Afghanistan blast

LONDON, England – Three British troops under NATO command were killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the British Defense Ministry said. They are among 10 international troops in Afghanistan who have died in bombings since Friday. The three soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Rifles, died from their …

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Bombing kills 4 coalition members in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – Four coalition members were killed Tuesday in southern Afghanistan when their vehicle hit an improvised bomb, the U.S. military said. The incident happened just after midday while the coalition members were on patrol with the Afghan National Security Forces, the U.S. military said. An Afghan civilian working …

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