TheRepublic.com - Taliban News

US tries saving Taliban talks after Karzai objects

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:20:19 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hopes dimmed for talks aimed at ending the Afghan war when an angry President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday suspended security negotiations with the U.S. and scuttled a peace delegation to the Taliban, sending American officials scrambling to preserve the possibility of dialogue with the militants.

Kerry calls Karzai to ease anger on Taliban office

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:16:29 -0400

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday made his second call to the Afghan president in 24 hours to ease Hamid Karzai's anger over the rollout of the Taliban's new political office in Qatar - a rift that temporarily delayed U.S. talks with the militant group set to begin later this week.

Obama urges 'bold' nuclear cuts in Berlin speech

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:24:07 -0400

BERLIN - Summoning the harsh history of this once-divided city, President Barack Obama on Wednesday cautioned the U.S. and Europe against "complacency" brought on by peace, pledging to cut America's deployed nuclear weapons by one-third if Cold War foe Russia does the same.

Militants kill 6 soldiers in northwest Pakistan

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:50:14 -0400

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A senior police official says militants attacked a military convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons in northwest Pakistan, killing six soldiers.

Obama: Friction in Afghan peace talks no surprise

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:37:21 -0400

BERLIN - President Barack Obama says it's no surprise that there's friction in early efforts to launch peace talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan's government.

Editorial: U.S., Taliban will hold talks, hopefully leading...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:18:58 -0400

An editorial / By Dale McFeatters - Since 1973, when King Mohammed Zahir Shah was ousted in a bloodless coup by his communist brother-in-law, pessimism about Afghanistan has generally not gone unrewarded.

Bombing at Pakistani funeral kills 29

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:58:02 -0400

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of hundreds of mourners attending a funeral in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 29 people. Among the dead was a newly elected lawmaker who may have been the target, authorities said.

Afghans poised to take security lead from US, NATO

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:35:07 -0400

JALALABAD, Afghanistan - One of the most significant turning points in one of America's longest and costliest wars is imminent: Afghanistan's fledgling security forces are taking the lead for security nationwide, bringing the moment of truth on the question of whether they are ready to fight an insurgency that remains resilient after nearly 12 years of conflict.

Editorial: A debt of honor to U.S. forces' translators...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:18:38 -0400

An editorial / By Dale McFeatters - In Afghanistan, the Taliban have promised to kill Afghanis who worked for the Americans and their families. In Iraq, similar threats were made by radical Islamic insurgents. They were not idle threats. The terrorists proved quite diligent in carrying out those threats.

UN says Afghan children casualties spike in war

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:12:34 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan - The number of children killed and injured in Afghanistan's war has risen sharply this year, the U.N. Children's Fund, said, calling the trend "unacceptable" and "very worrying."

Army leaders walk fine line as Afghan advisers

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:44:53 -0400

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FINLEY-SHIELDS, Afghanistan - - In previous years, the U.S. Army would have helped the Afghan National Army if their troops had run out of fuel or money or run into some other logistical problem, but with the U.S. getting ready for a significant withdrawal, the Americans are teaching the Afghans to rely on themselves.

Army leaders walk fine line as Afghan advisers

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 14:47:11 -0400

Idaho family says it received letter from POW

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:00:21 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - The family of an American prisoner of war captured nearly four years ago in Afghanistan says it has received a letter it believes was written by him.

May: Al-Qaida and Hezbollah, world champs of terror

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:18:30 -0400

By CLIFFORD D. MAY - During the George W. Bush administration, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage famously called Hezbollah the "A team of terrorists," adding: "al-Qaida is actually the B team."

US, Germany, Italy vow key Afghan roles post-2014

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:26:52 -0400

BRUSSELS - Germany and Italy will join the United States as "lead nations" in regions of Afghanistan after NATO transitions into a noncombat mission there after 2014, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday.

Pakistan's Sharif denounces recent US drone strike

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 02:17:06 -0400

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's incoming prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has expressed "deep disappointment" over a recent U.S. drone strike that the Pakistani Taliban said killed their No. 2 leader.

Kerry defends US drone policy after Pakistan hit

Fri, 31 May 2013 11:55:53 -0400

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State John Kerry is defending U.S. drone strikes after the CIA's killing of a senior Taliban member.

Drone strike comes despite transparency pledge

Fri, 31 May 2013 09:05:00 -0400

WASHINGTON - The drone attack that killed a Pakistan Taliban deputy leader this week was a clear signal that despite President Barack Obama's promise last week of new transparency in the drone program, the CIA will still launch secret attacks on militants in north Pakistan and the administration will not have to tell anyone about it.

Military probing Taliban attack that killed 2

Thu, 30 May 2013 17:33:22 -0400

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has begun to investigate a Taliban attack on a U.S.-British base in Afghanistan last September that killed two Marines and destroyed six aircraft and put on hold the announced promotion of the two-star Marine general who was in charge there at the time, officials said Thursday.

RedBlue: Is it time to end the war on terror?

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:47:22 -0400

By BEN BOYCHUK and JOEL MATHIS - President Barack Obama last week spoke at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., laying out his justification for such War on Terror tactics such as the use of drone assassinations, but also calling for the war to be wrapped up.

Top Pakistan militant said killed in US strike

Wed, 29 May 2013 15:07:48 -0400

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suspected U.S. drone strike killed the No. 2 commander of the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday, Pakistani intelligence officials said, although the militant group denied he was dead.

White House declines to confirm drone report

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:43:19 -0400

WASHINGTON - The White House is declining to confirm reports that a U.S. drone killed the Pakistani Taliban's second-in-command

May: What motivates our enemies? Understand ideology

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:17:17 -0400

By CLIFFORD D. MAY - In his 6,000-word speech on national security at the National Defense University last week, President Barack Obama devoted only one paragraph to the ideology of those who proclaim themselves America's enemies. But those 92 words are worth a closer look.

Fighting season is testing ground for Afghan force

Mon, 27 May 2013 22:31:48 -0400

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Abdul Malik and his fellow Afghan soldiers were driving across the arid and volatile south when their armored personnel carrier struck a roadside bomb. Malik found himself outside the vehicle, dazed but aware of his three comrades nearby. One had a serious head wound.

FACT CHECK: Kerry dishes some iffy claims abroad

Mon, 27 May 2013 03:13:26 -0400

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry straddled the diplomatic boundary this weekend between presenting the best face of America and a misleading one.