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War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
Obama bids good riddance to a dismal political year
Despite a late-year appearance of hopeful economic indicators and an 11th-hour boost in his Gallup Poll approval, 2014 bowed out as a distinct disappointment for President Barack Obama as he faces the last two lame-duck years in his presidency. The temporary uplift from his 2012 re-election was washed away two years later by the sweeping defeat of his Democratic Party in the November midterm congressional and gubernatorial elections, boding even deeper partisanship in Congress with the Republican takeover of the Senate. From a longer and even more depressing perspective, the last 14 years have marked a stalemate of sorts in American foreign policy. Mr. Obama's presidency has been...
Related "War in Afghanistan (2001-present)" Articles
Obama bids good riddance to a dismal political year
Despite a late-year appearance of hopeful economic indicators and an 11th-hour boost in his Gallup Poll approval, 2014 bowed out as a distinct disappointment for President Barack Obama as he faces the last two lame-duck years in his presidency.
The...
Freestate Happy Wanderers sponsors annual 9/11 memorial walk from Montpelier Mansion
A scorching hot day, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s and humidity soaring, didn't stop 106 people from participating in the annual 9/11 Memorial Walk at South Laurel's Montpelier Mansion.
Sponsored by the Freestate Happy Wanderers, a...
Taliban documentary shows value of Al Jazeera America
Six months in, there is more to say about Al Jazeera America than that its ratings stink. But that's about the only thing I see written about the Qatar-owned cable channel these days.
The ratings are minuscule — about one-half the audience that Al Gore's...
Critics attack soldier swap
The release of America's only prisoner of war in Afghanistan in a trade for five senior Taliban commanders from U.S. custody took only minutes Saturday. But it followed 31/2 years of secret on-and-off negotiations that produced far less than the White...
U.S. should speed Afghan pullout
From media accounts, the war in Afghanistan has hit a disturbing snag which was precipitated by President Hamid Karzai's recent remarks following the U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's visit, when he accused the Taliban terrorists and America of being...
Can Hagel reshape the Pentagon?
Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska who survived a stormy confirmation hearing to become the new secretary of defense, had a coming-out party of sorts last week before the National Defense University, the government's graduate...
Enough of Karzai, the Afghanistan War
The Baltimore Sun's editorial "Pulling the plug on Karzai" (July 10) is certainly a gratifying statement addressing the role of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan! How much longer can this country, and specifically President Barack Obama,...
The Iraq War: Was it worth it? [Commentary]
In early 2003, I marched through downtown Washington, D.C., with my fellow University of Maryland students to protest the Bush Administration's push toward war with the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
The American people were being told that invading...
A more realistic president? [Commentary]
As President Obama embarks on his sixth year in the Oval Office, he does so with a greater reality of the political equation he faces, as clearly demonstrated the other night in his State of the Union address.
The freshman chief executive five years...
Obama's full remarks
Below are President Barack Obama's full remarks as prepared for delivery at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday night.Michelle, I love you. The other night, I think the entire country saw just how lucky I am. Malia and...
There's a connection between school shootings and America's culture of violence
There is a connection between the disheartening events of Baltimore County students bringing weapons to school and the violence we see overseas ("School safety promised," Sept. 12).We are the richest, most powerful nation in the world. We are...
War everywhere but on the campaign trail
Here's an important fact you haven't heard much about in the presidential campaign: The armed forces of the United States are at war in at least four countries, and that number could increase any day.About 87,000 Americans are still fighting in...
Afghan killings point to the limits of an all-volunteer army
The American soldier accused of massacring 17 people in a solo rampage on a remote southern Afghanistan village faces multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. Whisked out of the country by the Army, he is now being held at Fort Leavenworth,...
Obama's State of the Union address as prepared for delivery [Text]
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, fellow citizens:
Fifty-one years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this Chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress…It is my task,” he said, “to...
Back from the battlefield, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans produce a surge of great fiction
Ben Fountain was driving to Galveston, Texas, in March 2003, about a week after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when he caught a glimpse of the literary future. "I was thinking, 'They're out there,'" Fountain says from his Dallas home....
Afghan officials say drone strike kills Islamic State group recruiter, at least 4 others
The top recruiter for the Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan was killed by a drone strike Monday, local officials said, marking the first such attack on the extremist group in a volatile country where it has a small but growing following. U.S....
U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan ends combat role
The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan formally ended its combat mission on Sunday, more than 13 years after an international alliance ousted the Taliban government for sheltering the planners of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on American cities.
About 13,000...
U.S. officials send Kuwaiti man home from Guantanamo Bay prison
A long-held Al Qaeda suspect at Guantanamo Bay was sent home to Kuwait early Wednesday after U.S. officials concluded he does not pose a threat to the United States.
Fawzi Odah, 37, was never charged or put on trial during his 13 years in the U.S....
Obama signs order expanding U.S. combat role in Afghanistan
President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing a broader military mission in Afghanistan in 2015 than originally planned, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The decision ensures a direct role for American troops in...
For many in Congress, a first test on issues of war
Lawmakers' votes this week on whether or not to train and equip Syrian opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State were arguably the most consequential after nearly two years in which Congress is likely to set a new low for productivity.But...
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