Success in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is achievable, even though the situation is serious, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said in a statement Monday. The statement came as Gen. Stanley McChrystal submitted a long-awaited report on the state of the war. "The situation ... demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said in the statement. The general's review was passed on to Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, ...

Monday marks the end of August, a month with both good and bad news out of Afghanistan — and the approach of a key turning point. Civilian casualties caused by Western attacks have fallen dramatically under a new edict from General Stanley McChrystal barring air strikes that risk innocent deaths . That's designed to show the Afghan people that the U.S. military is a force for good in their country. But at the same time, U.S. troop deaths ...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the Justice Department's decision to review waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques is politically motivated. Cheney said he opposes the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to ask a former prosecutor to review CIA interrogations of high-profile terrorism suspects. Cheney made clear he believes President Obama directed Holder to launch the review because the president is feeling pressure from left-wing Democrats. Cheney said the review will undermine the ...

A Miami, Florida, man indicted earlier this month in the largest case of identity theft in U.S. history has agreed to plead guilty to 19 felony counts for his role in another massive credit-card data breach, according to a court document. The following are excerpts from the letter as read by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at Kennedy's private burial service Saturday in Arlington National Cemetery: "Most Holy Father, I asked President Obama to personally hand-deliver this letter to you. As a ...

Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy didn't wear his faith on his sleeve, but those close to him say Catholicism was much more than an ethnic and cultural identity. Kennedy's family chose Boston's Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, also known as the Mission Church, for his funeral Mass on Saturday. The church held a special significance for the senator because he prayed there every day when his daughter, Kara, was diagnosed with cancer. Kennedy died Tuesday night after a 15-month ...

Sen. Edward Kennedy's close friends and family prepared for a memorial service at the JFK Presidential Library on Friday as mourners from all walks of life continued their own personal farewells. Numerous political heavyweights are expected to speak at the "celebration of life" service, including Vice President Joe Biden, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Arizona Sen. John McCain, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Caroline Kennedy and former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy will also address the private evening ...

It has not been lost on many that Ted Kennedy's death came at a moment when the cause he described as the greatest one of his public life — universal health care — seems to be stumbling just short of the goal line. Kennedy's absence has been felt all year on Capitol Hill, and there are many on both sides who believe that health reform might be closer to becoming a reality if he had been in any shape ...

All four living former presidents are expected to join President Obama at Saturday's funeral Mass for Sen. Ted Kennedy, family and law enforcement sources indicated Thursday. Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton will join Obama at the service in Boston before Kennedy's burial in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington. Obama, who called Kennedy an "extraordinary leader," will deliver a eulogy at the funeral, according to several sources. Kennedy's body will lie in repose Thursday ...

The early returns from Afghanistan's presidential election had the smell of a decorous massage job. With 10% of districts reporting, the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, and his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, the former Foreign Minister, were tied, with about 40% each. But few of those votes came from Karzai's Pashtun strongholds in the south, where turnout was light — owing to Taliban threats — but heavily managed. "It's not exactly one man, one vote out in the rural areas," a ...

Natural death did not come naturally to the Kennedy family. Two siblings brought down in flight; two others slain. But now two more siblings have modeled the death that most Americans say they want and fear they'll miss; both Edward Kennedy and his sister Eunice died within weeks of each other, at home, at peace, surrounded by family, after a race well run. For an eternally public clan that could not rise or fall or sin or stray without every move recorded, even ...