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18 Oct 2009 11:29

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World: Kidnapped New York Times reporter David Rohde tells his story

  • I thought of my wife and family and was overcome with shame. An interview that seemed crucial hours earlier now seemed absurd and reckless.
  • New York Times reporter David S. Rohde • Describing the situation that led to his capture by the Taliban in Afghanistan last year. Rohde, investigative journalist he is, is writing in-depth about his experience this week for the Times. You might remember the incident as the one Wikipedia hid on purpose to avoid it leaking to the mainstream media. Rohde’s story will be spilling onto the site all week. Block off some time to read it – it’s not often a reporter returns from such circumstances largely unharmed. • source

12 Oct 2009 10:33

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World: Afghanistan’s election fraud panel given a seal of disapproval

  • One of the two Afghan members of the UN-backed panel looking into Afghan election fraud allegations resigned today. source
  • The member claimed that foreign panel members had too much influence, calling them “interfering foreigners.” source

11 Oct 2009 11:34

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06 Oct 2009 21:03

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U.S., World: Obama and his posse debate the Afghan War near its anniversary

  • I’m the one who hired him. I put him there to give me a frank assessment.
  • President Barack Obama, discussing Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s request for more troops • According to people who were at a meeting about what to do about Afghanistan. Obama does not plan to cut troops in the country, which begins its eighth year of war tomorrow. • source

06 Oct 2009 10:46

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World: Wow, that was a big battle: A U.S. soldier death toll gets perspective

  • eight Americans died in a huge weekend battle in Afghanistan; it was the worst loss of U.S. soldiers in the region in a year source

01 Oct 2009 10:31

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U.S.: Here’s a random awesome shot from the White House

  • We seriously hope that every president considers doing like the White House Flickr feed in the future. (In this pic, he’s talking to a bunch of advisers about Afghanistan. We will say this much: It’s telling that only one of them is female.) You feel like you’re really on the inside with these photos. And they make a great document for future generations. Isn’t it great that we have a president who gets social media?source

21 Sep 2009 10:21

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U.S.: Afghanistan: Obama wants to cut back. A top general says, “Don’t.”

  • Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.
  • Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal • The top military commander in Afghanistan, on the likelihood of winning the war. In a recently unclassified document, McChrystal says more troops are necessary to win it – at a time when Obama is considering pulling back troops from the country. • source
 

17 Sep 2009 00:26

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Offbeat: Laugh, then cry: Honoring a fallen soldier buddy … by crossdressing

It’s a silly pact between buddies you never think will actually happen. Until it does. That’s why Barry Delaney wore a dress to Afghan soldier Kevin Elliott’s funeral. source

10 Sep 2009 10:02

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World: People are pointing fingers in the Stephen Farrell rescue

  • Gordon Brown’s hearing it after people died. On the plus side, New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was rescued after just a few days of captivity in Afghanistan. But it came at a deadly cost – beyond Farrell’s interpreter and two Afghan civilians, a British paratrooper was killed. Which means that, since Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly gave the final OK, he’s also getting the drama over it. After the fact, though, Brown’s denying it – he says he was only consulted. Hmmmmmmm. source

09 Sep 2009 02:10

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World: Another New York Times reporter kidnapped, rescued in Afghanistan

  • His translator didn’t make it though. Stephen Farrell is a lucky man. Farrell, a reporter for the New York Times since 2007, is now the second reporter in three months to have been rescued after being kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He didn’t have to wait as long as David Rohde for a rescue (Rohde was in Taliban captivity for seven months; Farrell was kidnapped four days ago), but his rescue was far more violent. Sultan Munadi, his interpreter, was killed in the crossfire. source