Hacking into American drone aircraft

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Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from unmanned American drone aircraft, US media reports say. Shia fighters are said to have used off-the-shelf software programs to capture the footage. The hacking was possible because the remotely flown planes have an unprotected communications link. Alex Gallafent reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Wired Magazine’s Noah Shachtman on the ‘drone war’ in Central Asia
• Tech Podcast: Listen to a longer version of the Shachtman interview
• Marco Werman talked with Ahmed Rashid about drone attacks

Afghan dam project in peril

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Kajaki Dam project in Southern Afghanistan is a symbol of US involvement in the country going back to the 1950s. In recent years, the project has been a priority for international development efforts, but the Taliban insurgency has put the success of the dam at risk. Washington’s foreign aid agency USAID has now put the Kajaki project on hold amid security concerns. Matthew Bell has the story. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• USAID in Afghanistan
• Background Brief: Taliban insurgency

Fighting the Afghan insurgency

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The commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, US Army General Stanley McChrystal, says the American military now understands counterinsurgency better than it ever has, and has made it a centerpiece of the new Afghanistan strategy. Reporter Ben Gilbert has been embedded with American forces in Afghanistan. On today’s show he is taking a look at how the counterinsurgency doctrine is being implemented on the ground in Afghanistan. Download MP3 (Photo: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images)

• Background brief:Taliban insurgency
• President Obama’s Afghanistan plan
• BBC coverage of the Afghanistan conflict

The drone war

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At least three suspected militants have been killed in a US drone attack in north-western Pakistan, officials say. The area is a major sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. Pakistan has publicly criticized drone attacks, saying they fuel support for the militants. The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks, but the US armed forces and CIA in Afghanistan are the only forces capable of deploying drones in the region, analysts say. Noah Shachtman of Wired magazine is just back from the region. Download MP3 (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage
• Wired.com: U.S. Military Joins CIA’s Drone War in Pakistan
• Podcast: Listen to a longer version of our interview with Noah Shachtman
• Marco Werman talked with Ahmed Rashid about drone attacks (Nov 5)
• Jeb Sharp on the controversial US drone strikes (Jun 18)

General McChrystal in Afghanistan hearing

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The United States will reverse Taliban momentum within a year and accomplish its mission in Afghanistan, but it will be “undeniably difficult” and costly, the top American commander there has said. Appearing in Congress, General Stanley McChrystal warned the mission would fail without more troops and praised President Obama’s decision to deploy 30,000 additional forces. Katy Clark reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage of the conflict with the Taliban
• President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy
• Background Brief: Taliban insurgency

Pakistan mosque attack

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More than 30 people have been killed and dozens injured in a coordinated attack at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, military officials say. Reports suggest there were at least two suicide attacks during Friday prayers followed by a series of explosions. Marco Werman speaks with Saeed Minhas of the State-run PTV News television in Islamabad. Download MP3 (AP Photo: Anjum Naveed)

• BBC coverage
• Pakistan’s Taliban dilemma
• On The World: Pakistan’s reaction to President Obama’s speech

Behind the bombings

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Pakistani columnist Kamran Shafi about how Pakistan should move forward in the wake of today’s bombings at the mosque in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan’s reaction to Obama speech

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President Obama said one of the three pillars to success in Afghanistan was Pakistan. Many in Pakistan have reacted negatively to that. The official reaction in Pakistan has been somewhat muted, but the press is speaking out strongly against the President’s new plan. The World’s Jason Margolis reports. Download MP3

• Obama speech: Reaction in quotes
• President Obama’s address on The World

President Obama’s Afghanistan plan

Special coverage of President Obama’s speech on The World:

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President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011. World security was at stake, Mr Obama said in his address to the nation at West Point, calling for more allied troops. Download MP3

• Our coverage of President Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan

Kandahar update

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President Obama is to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and deploy them within six months, US officials have said. Commanders on the ground want the reinforcements concentrated in Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan, including Kandahar and Helmand, the group’s opium-producing heartland. Ben Gilbert is reporting from an American base in Kandahar Province. Download MP3 (Photo of Marines in Helmand by Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty Images)

• President Obama’s Afghanistan plan: our coverage
• BBC coverage
• Monday’s interview with Ben Gilbert

The situation in Kandahar

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President Obama will officially unveil his new orders for the US military in Afghanistan tomorrow night at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. You can be certain the President’s speech will be closely watched at the military base in Kandahar. That’s Afghanistan’s second largest city and militants have been making gains in the area. Reporter Ben Gilbert is there. Download MP3

• President Obama’s Afghanistan plan
• Taliban insurgency
• Jeb Sharp on the mission in Afghanistan

Germany’s top general quits over Afghanistan raid

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Germany’s top soldier has resigned over allegations of a cover-up related to a deadly NATO air strike in Afghanistan. The strike on Sep 4, ordered by a German commander, targeted two fuel tankers hijacked by Taliban militants. But dozens of civilians were also killed in the attack in the northern province of Kunduz. Gerry Hadden looks into the German role in Afghanistan. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• The Taliban insurgency
• Inside the Taliban
• Katy Clark on what if the US loses in Afghanistan
• Jeb Sharp on the mission in Afghanistan

A view of Kabul

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with reporter Ben Gilbert, in Kabul, Afghanistan, about his first impressions of the city, and how it compares to Baghdad.

How to succeed in Afghanistan

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President Obama is to announce his long-awaited decision on Afghanistan on Tuesday. It’s still not clear what he’ll say in his prime-time speech but yesterday the president said he will “finish the job” in Afghanistan. We ask experts on war and security how we will know when the job is done. Download MP3

• The Taliban insurgency
• Inside the Taliban
• Katy Clark on what if the US loses in Afghanistan
• Jeb Sharp on the mission in Afghanistan
• Jeb Sharp’s award winning series ‘How Wars End’

Building up the Afghan forces

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President Obama says he would announce the long-awaited decision on sending more US troops to Afghanistan “shortly”. Afghan President Karzai recently said the strength of Afghan security forces had to be bolstered and the role of international forces reduced. The World’s Katy Clark reports on how capable the Afghan forces are. Download MP3 (Photo: David Quillen/AFP/Getty Images)

• BBC coverage
• Katy Clark on what if the US loses in Afghanistan
• Jeb Sharp on the mission in Afghanistan