Afghanistan
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Hundreds of Afghan women imprisoned for 'moral crimes,' says new report
But the response of local journalists at Human Rights Watch press conference shows how tough it may be to persuade Afghans to end criminalization of 'crimes' that include fleeing abuse.
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Terrorism & Security
Reports: Afghan soldiers complicit in a suicide plot against their own government
The alleged discovery of nearly a dozen suicide vests at the Afghan Ministry of Defense deepens concerns about the loyalty of Afghan security forces, which have already killed 16 coalition troops this year.
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Afghan shootings: US pays $50,000 per victim
Relatives received the cash in compensation for a March 11 shooting spree in Afghanistan. The US has charged Staff Sgt. Robert Bales of 17 murders in the case.
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Backchannels
NATO fatalities in Afghanistan: 22 percent this year at hands of Afghan Army, police
Gen. John Allen urged Congress yesterday to 'stay the course' but offered little encouraging data.
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Backchannels
A faulty argument for staying on in Afghanistan
Marc Thiessen of the Washington Post's op-ed page is promising doom when US troops pull out of Afghanistan. There is no reason to believe he's close to correct.
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Turkish helicopter crash in Afghanistan comes at tough time for NATO forces
A NATO helicopter crashed into a house on the outskirts of Kabul on Friday, killing 12 Turkish soldiers on board and at least two Afghan civilians on the ground.
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Terrorism & Security
NATO's Afghan strategy tested as Taliban talks derail, Karzai demands troop pullback
Details are emerging about US soldier who killed Afghan civilians in a rampage that spurred Afghan President Karzai to demand that US troops leave village outposts.
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Taliban suspend talks with the US amid Afghan turmoil
Taliban leaders announced today they are halting negotiations with the US, dealing another setback to the US strategy in Afghanistan.
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Keep Calm
Afghan President Karzai's angry ultimatums have parallels in post-colonial Africa
After the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by a US Army sergeant, Afghan President Karzai told the US to speed up withdrawal. Post-colonial experience from Africa suggests that US departure may not be pretty.
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US-Russia 'reset' gets a boost with Russian offer of airbase
Russia has made an unprecedented offer that indicates a desire to improve ties ahead of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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Terrorism & Security
Afghans angry that shooting suspect flown out of country (+video)
The US military says it is standard procedure to move the suspect, but many Afghans are demanding the US soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in Kandahar face justice in the country.
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Keep Calm
When US troops leave Afghanistan, an American university will remain
US military withdrawal from Afghanistan won't necessarily spell the end of US commitments to Afghanistan, says president of American University of Afghanistan.
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Afghan shooting: Panetta visits wary Afghanistan
Afghan shooting spree by a US soldier Sunday sends US-Afghanistan relations into further disarray following earlier incidents of Quran burnings and the urination on Taliban corpses.
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Afghanistan shooting: Protests are peaceful, but era of cooperation closing
Days after a US soldier went on a shooting spree in Afghanistan, protests have remained mostly peaceful except for an insurgent attack on an Afghan government delegation.
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Keep Calm
How US presidential politics gives leverage to the Taliban, Iran
While America’s adversaries in Afghanistan and Iran cannot actually pull key strings to choose the next US president, election year politics ends up giving them some leverage.
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Rampage in Afghanistan puts long-term US presence in peril (+video)
Yesterday's shooting spree by a US soldier has sharpened Afghan desires for foreign troops to be subject to Afghan courts. The issue is complicating a deal on keeping US bases here beyond 2014.
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US soldier goes on killing spree: How events may unfold in Afghanistan
A US soldier, apparently acting alone after walking off a base, killed up to 17 Afghans including women and children on a rampage through at least three local homes in Kandahar Province.
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The PR challenge in Afghanistan: suicide bombing, Quran burning, and murky data
The US and NATO continue to offer relentlessly optimistic reports. But they aren’t reversing the erosion of public confidence, and attacks like today's suicide bombing don't help.
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Keep Calm
Good Reads: lighter, messier African conflicts, and burning Qurans
How the post-cold-war era has given birth to smaller, messier conflicts; and how the Quran burning incident in Afghanistan could have been much worse. Seriously.
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Backchannels
Why an apology on Afghan Quran burning matters
Because it might save lives.
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NATO pulls out of Afghan ministries. What's the impact?
Many Afghans say advisers create a valuable link to NATO and foreign donors, but Afghans who work close with the advisers say the training and oversight varies in quality.
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Terrorism & Security
Taliban claim Afghanistan suicide attack, citing 'revenge' for Quran burnings
An Afghan suicide bomber attacked outside the NATO base in Jalalabad today, killing nine people. The attack follows a deadly week of protests over Quran burnings at a US base.
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Quran burning protests rage on, injuring 7 more troops
The US ambassador to Afghanistan admits that 'tensions are running very high here' over the disposal of Qurans in a burn pit at a US military base.
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Backchannels
What burning Qurans in Afghanistan tells us
After 10 years, US troops still fail to understand the local culture, and Afghans are tired of the occupation.
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Global News Blog
Quran burning: What is the respectful way to dispose of Islam's holy book?
Thousands protested today the burning of Qurans and other religious texts at a US military base in Afghanistan.
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