It has taken President Obama three months to reach the decision on Afghanistan that he'll share with the nation Tuesday night, because there are no easy solutions. His chosen path will win applause from some quarters but boos from others. Here's a scorecard outlining the key questions the speech will address, to determine what proposals Obama has embraced and the risks he's willing to accept — and who's likely to be pleased or ticked off as ...

While much of the focus on Tuesday's unveiling of President Obama's revamped Afghanistan strategy will be on the number of U.S. troops he's expected to send, that decision is really a sideshow to the critical battle now under way on the ground. Far more important to prospects of victory in Afghanistan is jump-starting a moribund effort to woo nonideological Taliban fighters to switch sides in exchange for paying jobs. Pentagon officials are hoping to repeat the success of similar ...

Earlier this month, Lieut. Colonel William F. McCullough, commanding officer of the 1-5 U.S. Marines in Afghanistan's Helmand province, took part in an exercise in insurgent reintegration. He rose from a dusty couch and extended his hand to one Abdul Khalik, whom his men had detained for the previous three days on suspicion of insurgent activities. "What do you want him to do now," asked McCullough's translator. "Anything he wants," said McCullough, taking Khalik's hand and shaking it, "so ...

Was the Army psychiatrist who is the main suspect in last week's Fort Hood shooting massacre a disaffected loner who simply snapped on the eve of a deployment to Afghanistan? Or was Major Nidal Malik Hasan a Muslim extremist whose rampage was inspired by terrorist groups overseas? As authorities continue to investigate the deadly episode, they are struggling to understand just what led Hasan to allegedly mow down so many at the Texas military base. And while there is ...

As an army psychiatrist treating soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Major Nidal Malik Hasan had a front row seat on the brutal toll of war. It is too early to know exactly what may have triggered his murderous shooting rampage Thursday at Fort Hood — Hasan is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 32 others before he was wounded by a police officer — but it is not uncommon for therapists treating soldiers with Post Trumatic Stress ...

A top Taliban political leader delivered a message Friday to President Obama, calling his attempt to lure away Taliban fighters with money "an old weapon that has failed already." Obama meets Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who will tell the U.S. leader how a large deployment to Afghanistan would affect the military. Akhund warned Obama against maintaining a military presence in Afghanistan, saying it "will only deepen your economic crisis and will harm your international reputation." "Pull all ...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is calling for additional security for U.N. staff in Afghanistan, citing a "dramatically escalated threat" due to the world body's support for that nation's electoral process.Ban also said the U.N. is "exploring the feasibility of bringing in additional security units to guard U.N. facilities." The U.N. currently has hundreds of staff in Afghanistan offering technical and operational support for Afghanistan's elections. Various other U.N. agencies are involved in humanitarian work in the war-torn nation.

A strong earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region of eastern Afghanistan Thursday, but the U.S. Geological Survey said it had no reports of damage or injuries.Boteach bills himself as "one of the world's leading relationship experts and spiritual authorities." According to his author bio in "The Michael Jackson Tapes," Newsweek referred to him as "the most famous rabbi in America." Among his achievements: a National Fatherhood Award. Gosselin could certainly use the help. Since his high profile breakup with ...

There is a well-known saying in Afghanistan: "You can rent an Afghan, but you can't buy him.""There's been an amnesty program for low-level Taliban in place for many years now and thousands of people have taken advantage of it," he said. "So this is not entirely a new idea. The idea of bribing people, local guys, to come over. ... It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get people to lay down their arms, either to negotiate a peace ...

An inquiry into the crash of a British aircraft in Afghanistan three years ago calls the accident "preventable," citing a loss of focus on safety in an effort to save money for the armed forces, the defense secretary said Wednesday.