Middle East | featured news

U.N. nuclear chief says Iran agrees to probe of suspected weapons work

LAEA Chief

The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency said Tuesday that he has reached a deal with Iran on probing its suspected work on nuclear weapons and that the agreement will "be signed quite soon."

 

World leaders confront flagging Afghan war

It was what President Barack Obama called a "war of necessity," a conflict thrust upon America by the 9/11 attacks. As NATO's mission here winds down nearly 11 years later, the insurgents remain undefeated, corruption runs rife and the peace process is stuck in the sand.

 

In Afghanistan, New Insurgent Group Emerges

Taliban

While the Taliban publicly disavowed the new group, Mullah Dadullah Front, Afghan intelligence officials depicted it as a faction of the Taliban.

 

U.S. not giving up on Taliban peace talks

When it comes to negotiating with the Taliban, it's always one step forward, two steps back. Despite several serious rounds of violence this week, including the assassination of a top peace negotiator, the United States will continue to try to negotiate with the Taliban, experts say. Afghanistan has been violent for a long time, they argue. This week just brought more of the same.

 

Syria's Assad: Nations that sow chaos will suffer

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to "sow chaos" in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back the insurgency aimed at forcing him from power.

 

NYT: US-led imperative in peril as trained Afghans turn enemy

Afghan War

Assaults on coalition service members by uniformed Afghan soldiers, what the military calls "green on blue" attacks, are undermining the future of the mission.

 

In military-rich battlegrounds, Obama targets new group: veterans

President Obama has wound down America’s war in Iraq, ordered the operation that killed Osama bin Laden and set in motion the end of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan. He also has focused particular attention on veterans and military families, increasing funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs, implementing the post-Sept. 11 G.I. Bill and launching job programs for returning troops.

 

Americans want to slash defense spending, but Washington isn’t listening

Ask your average American whether the defense budget should go up or down in 2013, and by how much, and they’ll tell you to cut spending by a whopping 18 percent. Ask your average member of Congress the same question, and no matter which party they’re from, you’ll likely hear that defense spending should barely budge from where it is right now.

 

Dozens killed, wounded in Damascus blasts: Syria TV

Dozens of people were killed or wounded in two "terrorist explosions" which struck a southern district of the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, state television said.

 

As U.S.-Taliban talks stall, hope for political solution dims

Taliban Peace Talk

After more than a year of sporadic contacts, U.S.-Taliban talks have been stalled for months, deflating Obama administration hopes that progress toward a political solution to the Afghan war would be well underway this spring.

 

Subscribe to this RSS topic: Syndicate content