WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is developing plans to withdraw up to half of the 14,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Thursday, marking a sharp change in the Trump administration's policy aimed at forcing the Taliban to the peace table after more than 17 years of war. One...
Trump Pulling Out of Syria. Might Afghanistan Be Next?
WASHINGTON — Against the advice of many in his own administration, President Donald Trump is pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. Could a withdrawal from Afghanistan be far behind? Trump has said his instinct is to quit Afghanistan as a lost cause, but more recently he's suggested a willingness to...
Rise in US Deaths in Afghanistan Clouds Outlook for Peace
WASHINGTON — A rash of American combat deaths in Afghanistan is putting a spotlight on a stalemated 17-year war that is testing President Donald Trump's commitment to pursuing peace with the Taliban. Trump has acknowledged that his original instinct was to withdraw from Afghanistan, but last week he suggested he...
Suicide Bomber Targets Clerics in Afghan Capital, 50 Killed
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of hundreds of Islamic scholars in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, killing at least 50 people as Muslims around the world marked the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said another 83 people were wounded in...
3 Top Afghan Officials Killed by Guards But US General Survives
KABUL, Afghanistan — The three top officials in Afghanistan's Kandahar province were killed when their own guards opened fire on them at a security conference Thursday, the deputy provincial governor said, and a Taliban spokesman said the target was Washington's top general in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, who escaped without...
Our Wars Are Hidden Now, But the Costs Are Still Staggering
Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are long dead. The Iraq War officially ended in 2011. But the Afghanistan War grinds on, 17 years and counting with no resolution in sight. It was on Oct. 7, 2001, that President George W. Bush — backed by Congress — ordered U.S. troops...
Assaults by Taliban Raise Questions About US Plan for Peace
WASHINGTON — A year after the Trump administration introduced its strategy for Afghanistan, the Taliban are asserting themselves on the battlefield even as U.S. officials talk up hopes for peace. That's raising questions about the viability of the American game plan for ending a war that began when some of...
Negotiate With Taliban to End Afghan War: Zakaria
Recent news reports on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan have raised the possibility of future direct talks with the Taliban aimed at reaching a peace accord and allowing for the withdrawal of American troops from the war-torn country. Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the conflict has since become America's...
'Commie Cadet' Resigns From the U.S. Army
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — The images Spenser Rapone posted on Twitter from his West Point graduation were intentionally shocking: In one, the cadet opens his dress uniform to expose a T-shirt with a blood-red image of socialist icon Che Guevara. In another, he raises his fist and flips his cap to...
Trump's Iran Sanctions Will Hurt Hopes for Democracy
Anyone who has seen the movie "Charlie Wilson's War" knows that a single congressman provided great help to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Later, these same rebels would target the United States. And these days, it's hard to miss President Donald Trump promising to crack down on violent MS-13...