Soldiers' tattoos in Marjah
During a recent embed with Marines in Marjah, Afghanistan, photographer Mauricio Lima asked the men to share the stories behind their tattoos. She captured bulldogs, Arabic inscriptions, on-skin memorials and more.
John Kerry in Afghanistan
The Afghan president met with a top U.S. senator Tuesday and asked for a review of Washington's Afghanistan war strategy, the president's office said in a statement.
President Hamid Karzai discussed the issue with Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. FULL POST
Poll: U.S. opposition to Afghan war at all-time high
Unpopularity with the war in Afghanistan reached an all-time high in CNN polling with 62 percent saying they oppose it, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey. Moreover, confidence in the Afghan government is low. Seven in 10 Americans are not confident that Hamid Karzai's government can handle the situation there. FULL POST
Taliban fighter linked to U.S. sailors' kidnapping is slain
Security forces killed a Taliban official with "direct ties" to the insurgent network involved in the recent kidnapping and murders of two U.S. Navy sailors, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said on Tuesday.
Afghan and coalition troops killed Bilal, "a highly active Taliban facilitator," in Logar province on Monday.
Bilal was linked to the Taliban network that abducted and killed Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley and Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove in July, an ISAF news release said. It is not yet known what role, if any, Bilal played in the sailors' kidnapping. The insurgents' full name was not provided. FULL POST
Karzai: Private security firms to be disbanded in four months
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai issued a decree Tuesday disbanding all private security firms within four months.
The decree involves international and national private security companies and the security employees of those companies are able to join the Afghan national police with their weapons. FULL POST
Karzai condemns stoning deaths by Taliban
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the stoning deaths of a young man and woman in northern Afghanistan over the weekend, calling the executions by the Taliban "unforgivable."
"Executing these two young people without trial is a crime, an act of inhumanity, and is counter to Islam," the president said in a statement Tuesday. FULL POST
Tillman's parents: Army still hasn't told truth
Six years removed from the death of their son - former NFL star Pat Tillman - in Afghanistan, Patrick and Mary Tillman say they haven't gotten the full truth from the U.S. Army and don't expect to.
"No, we don't know the whole truth," Mary Tillman said on CNN's "Larry King Live" Monday night. "They never did a criminal investigation after Pat was killed. So, without that proper criminal investigation, they destroyed evidence, which is long gone. There really is no way for us to know exactly what happened to him."
