Rolling Stone: Army manipulated visiting VIPs in Afghanistan
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is ordering an investigation into a scathing Rolling Stone magazine report that says the Army ordered soldiers trained in "psychological operations" to manipulate visiting lawmakers to secure more troops and funding for the war, the military said Thursday. FULL POST
Suspected drone strike kills 5 militants in Pakistan
A suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region killed five suspected militants on Thursday, intelligence officials told CNN.
Two intelligence officials said the drone fired two missiles on the militant's hideout in the area of Data Khel in North Waziristan, one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
The intelligence officials asked not be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Based on a count by the CNN Islamabad bureau Thursday's suspected drone strike was the eleventh this year.
More civilian casualties reported in northeastern Afghanistan
Just days after the governor of an northeastern Afghanistan province claimed dozens of civilians were killed in a NATO-led mission targeting insurgents, new allegations of civilian casualties surfaced in a nearby province Thursday.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force is investigating the claims stemming from an operation Thursday morning in the Alah Say district of Kapisa province, the military said in a statement. Armed insurgents were the target, ISAF said.
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Afghan minister: We'll need U.S. help after 2014
Afghanistan will need help from the United States after a planned withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2014, Afghanistan's defense minister said Wednesday.
Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak made the comment to Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a visit to the Pentagon in Washington.
"It will need your help beyond 2014," Wardak said.
Gates complimented Afghanistan for taking what he called an increasingly leading role in their security.
President Barack Obama has announced plans to begin withdrawing some troops from Afghanistan this July, with all U.S. combat troops scheduled to be out of Afghanistan by 2014.
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Tension between Petraeus, Afghans over airstrike, children
The U.S. military is denying Afghan government accusations that Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of international forces in Afghanistan, callously dismissed concerns of an airstrike burning children in a northwest village.
The accusation, reported by the Washington Post, stemmed from a weekend meeting in Kabul between Afghan officials and the general to discuss an airstrike in Kunar province.
Afghan officials say the strike killed nearly 50 women and children, in addition to 16 insurgents. The International Security Assistance Force said its weapons system video showed that 36 insurgents carrying weapons were killed.
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