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Afghanistan – Ten Years On
Afghanistan – Ten Years On Following the attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001, directed by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, US military operations inside Afghanistan got underway on October 7th 2001. The Taliban leadership which had hosted al-Qaeda in Afghanistan was swiftly ousted but al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden could not be captured or [...]
The impact on US strategy in Afghanistan
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The World’s Jason Margolis looks at how the death of Osama Bin Laden might impact US strategy in Afghanistan. Download MP3
A history of resistance in Eastern Libya
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The city of Darnah in Eastern Libya has long withstood foreign interference and occupation. They’ve resisted everyone from Byzantine invaders to the Italians and staged uprisings in 1970 and 1996 that challenged Gadafi’s rule. But as Ben Gilbert reports, the hardened fighters there are now welcoming foreign help. Download MP3
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President Obama’s Afghanistan review
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President Obama has said the US is “on track” to achieve its goals in Afghanistan, following publication of the US annual strategy review. The review said al-Qaeda’s leadership was at its weakest since 2001 and it added that the US had made enough progress to start a “responsible reduction” of forces in July 2011. Katy Clark reports. Download MP3Special coverage from The World
Salsa night in Kandahar
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At the sprawling US military Kandahar Airfield, in Southern Afghanistan, there are many ways to entertain oneself on a year-long deployment, including Salsa night. That’s every Saturday. Correspondent Ben Gilbert has a report from Kandahar. Download MP3Ben Gilbert’s stories from Afghanistan
K-9 in Afghanistan
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IEDs are the biggest danger to troops in Afghanistan. Troops mostly use modern technology but there’s one low-tech fallback that can help get troops safely home: dogs. Correspondent Ben Gilbert reports from Afghanistan. Download MP3Ben Gilbert’s pictures of the K-9 unit
Training the Afghan armed forces
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The US strategy in Afghanistan includes a deadline: 2014. The Americans want to turn over security to Afghan forces by then. To do that, the US will have to train enough Afghan recruits to do the job. The World’s Ben Gilbert was recently embedded with US troops who are “partnered” with Afghan army units in Kandahar. Download MP3Ben Gilbert Afghanistan coverage on The World
NATO summit focuses on Afghanistan
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NATO members are meeting in Portugal for a summit that President Barack Obama has said will revitalize the 28-member alliance for the 21st Century. The main focus of the summit is the war in Afghanistan with plans to bring combat operations to an end by 2014. Laura Lynch reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Ben Gilbert)
Ben Gilbert Afghanistan coverage on The World
An Afghan government offensive
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Senior Obama Administration officials have indicated that 2014 is the key date for handing over responsibility to Afghan security forces. One of the areas US troops are likely to be fighting in until then is the country’s violent Kandahar Province, where the objective is to beef up the Afghan security forces to take over security responsibility, and at the same time build up the local Afghan government. Ben Gilbert reports that the march toward those goals has really just begun in many parts of the province and there’s a long way to go. Download MP3 (Photo: Ben Gilbert)Slideshow: Ben Gilbert’s coverage in Afghanistan
Kandahar campaign in ‘final stages’
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US military commanders have said the Kandahar campaign is in its final stages, and the debate over the success of the campaign has already begun. But troops on the ground are withholding their verdict – they’re still in the middle of very dangerous territory, fighting an often unseen foe. Ben Gilbert reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Ben Gilbert)Multimedia: Ben Gilbert’s photos from Zhari district, Afghanistan
Wiccans in the war zone
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For most troops deployed in Afghanistan, Halloween is just another family holiday they’re missing but to the followers of the Wicca religion, yesterday and today are special celebrations. It’s “Samhain,” – the ancient Celtic holiday of the harvest. US troops in Afghanistan who are pagans got together last night to celebrate on a base in Kandahar Province. Ben Gilbert was on Forward Operating Base Wilson and has this report. Download MP3>>>Ben Gilbert’s coverage from Afghanistan
Kandahar campaign winds down
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US troops in Afghanistan, and their NATO allies, have had their sights on Kandahar for months. The idea is to defeat the Taliban on what the insurgents consider to be their home turf. The US Army’s 101st Airborne has been pushing into areas that the Taliban once controlled. That’s meant moving troops through very dangerous territory, often booby trapped by the rebels. Reporter Ben Gilbert is embedded with the 101st Airborne, and sent us this report. Download MP3 (Photo: Ben Gilbert)
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US working with Afghan police
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Afghanistan’s President Karzai promised to close foreign private security companies by the end of the year. International officials are urging Karzai to reverse his decree. They warn that aid workers can’t rely on Afghan police to protect them. As it turns out, US forces in Afghanistan have been trying for some time to improve the performance of the local police forces. Progress has been erratic. Ben Gilbert was embedded with the 504th Military Police Battalion in Kandahar City when he sent this report on the training of the Afghan police. Download MP3Slideshow: See images from Ben Gilbert’s reporting
Fighting around Kandahar
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Operations around the southern Afghan city of Kandahar have stepped up a notch recently. The fighting has escalated without a great deal of fanfare but a lot of firepower has been deployed and international forces say they are killing a lot of bad guys.The World’s Ben Gilbert is at an outpost in Zari district from Kandahar City. Download MP3>>>Ben Gilbert’s stories on The World
‘Don’t ask’ in Afghanistan
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Download MP3The World’s Ben Gilbert speaks with troops at a US military base in Kandahar about how they feel about gay men and women serving openly in the military.
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