Topic: The Taliban

Featured

5 memoirs to add to your 2013 reading list

A new crop of memoirs takes readers to the worlds authors once knew.

All Content

'The importance of light when we see darkness'

A Christian Science perspective: Finding God's care in the face of violence.
Pakistan: Come home Malala, says Taliban leader

In a letter to Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani Taliban leader Adnan Rasheed said he wished he could have prevented the October attack that landed her in a hospital in Britain last year. He urged her to return to Pakistan and to school there.
'The Newsroom': What's ahead for season 2 (+video)

'The Newsroom' returned July 14 for a second season. 'The Newsroom' stars Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, and Sam Waterston.
9 suspected militants killed in drone strike, Pakistani military operation

Nine insurgents were killed in Pakistan this weekend, in two separate military operations. A US drone strike and an operation by the Pakistan Air Force targeted the mountainous tribal region which borders Afghanistan.
The Monitor's View As US eyes retreat in Afghanistan, it must listen to Malala

The young Pakistani girl is a model for the global struggle against the anti-women Taliban. With Obama weighing troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Malala's speech to the UN today gives reasons to finish the job.
Malala and fellow teenage girls struggle not to stall out in school

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who survived a Taliban assassination attempt, has become a leading voice for girls' education and spoke at the UN today.
Pakistan wants to talk to its Taliban, but doesn't know what to say

Pakistanis favor comprehensive peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban, but the process has been held back by disagreement over how to compromise.
Top Picks: Washington, D.C.'s Fourth of July celebrations, National Geographic's documentary on a group of US Marines, and more

Deborah Madison's book 'Vegetable Literacy' gives you recipes for your farmers' market purchases, pieces by the Emerson String Quartet show why the group is one of the world's best, and more top picks.
Focus Is Afghanistan ready to defend itself?

Evidence is mixed as to the readiness of Afghanistan's Army and National Police to assume the lead in planning and fighting – with the summer combat season likely to be the first big test.
Pakistani Taliban kill nine foreigners at foot of ninth highest mountain (+video)

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman said the attack on nine tourists and one Pakistani guide was retaliation for the killing of the group's No. 2 in a US drone strike last month.
Terrorism & Security Taliban offers to exchange US prisoner as it seeks international support

The Taliban is trying to set itself up as a legitimate party, angering the Afghan government which has put peace talks on hold.
Prisoner swap? What Taliban want in return for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl.

US soldier Bowe Bergdahl has been a Taliban captive for four years. The Taliban, after opening an office in Qatar from which to conduct reconciliation talks on Afghanistan, wants a prisoner exchange with the US.
Terrorism & Security Symbolism of Taliban flag and banner upends Afghan peace talks

Planned negotiations between the US, Afghanistan, and the Taliban look doubtful after the Afghan president announces a boycott amid a row over the Taliban office in Doha.
The Monitor's View Talking with the enemy: Obama, Taliban negotiate Afghanistan's future (+video)

With the US and Taliban due to open talks, Obama's idea of negotiating an end to the Afghanistan war faces its big test. Fortunately, the Taliban will also be tested to face the new Afghan realities.
Backchannels As Karzai blusters over Taliban, more trouble in Afghanistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai suspended talks with the US over a new Status of Forces Agreement, furious that the US is trying to join peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar.
Terrorism & Security Bagram Air Base attack: Four US soldiers killed as US seeks talks with Taliban

Bagram Air Base attack: The Taliban killed four US soldiers overnight, as the US sought talks with the militant group. The Bagram Air Base attack infuriated Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

No one is predicting an easy road ahead for the peace talks. One key question: How united are the Taliban’s political and military wings behind this latest reconciliation effort?
As Taliban prepares for peace talks, US braces for disappointment

The Taliban will open a political office in Qatar, the White House announced Tuesday. This would help prepare for reconciliation talks in which the government of Afghanistan and the US would take part.
Terrorism & Security After 12 years, NATO passes security responsibility to Afghan forces

The formal transfer of Afghan forces into the lead of the fight in Afghanistan is raising questions about whether they're prepared to fight on their own.
Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Army Maj. Nidal Hasan cannot use the defense that he acted to protect Taliban leaders from US soldiers deploying to Afghanistan, a military judge ruled Friday. His challenge now is to come up with another explanation to argue at his court-martial.
Terrorism & Security Taliban assault on Kabul airport ends with seven militants dead

A small Taliban unit assaulted the Kabul airport just before dawn today. Afghan police and Army units handled the response.
Backchannels Report confirms high toll from Afghan insider attacks in 2012

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction points to the dangers posed to foreign troops from their Afghan counterparts.
With Nidal Hasan bombshell, time to call Fort Hood shooting a terror attack?

Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army major facing court-martial for a mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2009, plans to argue that he acted in defense of the Taliban in Afghanistan. So much for the official US line that the shootings were an act of workplace violence, critics say.
American public has few qualms with drone strikes, poll finds

President Obama's aggressive campaign of drone strikes has generated controversy overseas and among terrorism experts. But Americans seem fine with it, according to a Monitor/TIPP poll.
Obama to detail terrorism policy including drone attacks and Guantánamo Bay prison

In a national security speech, President Obama will explain his policies dealing with terrorism, the use of drone aircraft, Al Qaeda, and the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.