A suicide car bombing tore through a U.S. convoy in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 15 people including six Americans in a blast so powerful it rattled the other side of the Afghan capital. U.S. soldiers rushed to help, some wearing only T-shirts or shorts under their body armor.
Read More
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has irked Washington with his frequent criticism of American military operations in his country, said Thursday that his government is now ready to let the U.S. have nine bases across Afghanistan after most foreign troops withdraw in 2014.
Read More
Military veterans reportedly have been waiting an average of 320 days for claims to be processed through the Oakland office.
Bay Area Democratic Reps. Jackie Speier and Barbara Lee on Monday held a three-hour hearing to listen to more than 300 people affected by delays that have created 34,000 backlogged disability claims at Oakland’s Veterans Affairs office.
Speier said veterans deserve to have their claims processed quickly.
Read More
A 19-year-old Marine from Danville was killed in Afghanistan on Friday, according to a Danville city councilman, and his death represents the second Bay Area war casualty in as many days.
Joshua Corral, a 2010 graduate of San Ramon Valley High School, was killed in Afghanistan on Friday afternoon, according to Councilman Mike Doyle. The Department of Defense had not released notification of Corral's death as of Saturday morning.
Read More
WHAT: After a yearlong investigation that called 20 witnesses to corroborate bribery charges against former provincial governor Ghulam Qawis Abu Bakr, the case was closed and the top prosecutor was demoted and transferred.HOW: The U.S. hoped Abu Bakr would be the first convicted Afghan big shot. Most of the approximately 2,000 bribery cases investigated have stalled, except for 28 convictions of minor criminals.
Read More
A Louisiana homeowners association is suing to force a resident family to remove the front-yard sign supporting their son’s military service in Afghanistan. Timothy and Jodi Burr display a large banner with a picture of their 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Corey Burr, and the phrase, “Our son defends our freedom.” The Burrs are fighting the lawsuit and refuse to remove the sign, saying signs backing local school teams are displayed throughout the subdivision.
Read More
President Obama will hold a press conference at 11:30 am EST today at the White House. This will be Obama’s first press conference since March.
Read More
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich plans to accuse President Obama of perpetuating "delusions" that terrorist threats to U.S. national security are receding at a dinner in Baltimore on Thursday.
"The tide of war is not receding," Gingrich will say, according to his prepared remarks for the dinner, which is sponsored by the Maryland Republican Party. "It is a delusion to suggest to the American people that the world is getting safer."
Read More
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday not to lose patience with Pakistan, despite the United States' perpetually frustrating relationship with the country.
"America cannot and should not try to solve Pakistan’s problems; they have to eventually do that themselves," she said. "But nor can we walk away from this relationship and ignore the consequences."
Read More
The New York Times reported that senior officials within the Obama administration are pressing for an accelerated withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan. The “rationale” for that pressure is supposedly the success of America’s efforts against al-Qaida and the fact that “the counterterrorism campaign, which was favored by Vice President Joe Biden in 2009, has outperformed the more troop-intensive counterinsurgency campaign pushed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Gen.
Read More
URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/topics/afghanistan
