Middle East, Troops | featured news

As the Obama administration debates whether to shift its aims in Afghanistan, officials at the Pentagon and National Security Council have begun developing "middle path" strategies that would require fewer troops than their ground commander is seeking.

Britain is ready to raise troop numbers in Afghanistan by 500 to 9,500, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday, providing certain conditions are met.

As Obama's team works on its plans, McChrystal and other advisors are asked to keep the process more private. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that President Obama's advisors should keep their guidance private, in effect admonishing the top commander in Afghanistan for publicly advocating an approach requiring more troops even as the White House reassesses its strategy.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by the Washington Post.

The commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan has finished his review of the war and that it is now being sent up the chain of command to the Pentagon and NATO headquarters, NATO says.

The top U.S. military officer described the situation in Afghanistan as "serious and deteriorating," but refused to say Sunday whether defeating a resilient enemy would require more than the 68,000 American troops already committed.

Adm. Mike Mullen also expressed concern about eroding public support as the U.S. and NATO enter their ninth year of combat and reconstruction operations.

A series of powerful explosions reverberated across the heart of Baghdad today, killing at least 75 people and wounding more than 300 on the deadliest day in the capital since U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq's cities on June 30.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq says he wants to deploy American soldiers to disputed territories in northern Iraq following a recent spike in bombings there.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan reached two solemn milestones Monday: July has become the deadliest month for U.S. troops in ...

U.S. combat forces will vacate all Iraqi cities on schedule by the end of this month, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said on Tuesday, including the insurgent stronghold of Mosul.