U.S. not lined up to defeat al Qaeda, top official warns

The nation’s chief counterterrorism official says despite a "seriously diminished" threat to the homeland, the U.S. government is still not properly organized to support the "team" effort needed to defeat al Qaeda. Mike Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said the government has made vast improvements since the terrorist attacks of Sept

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Clinton backs talks with moderate Taliban

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday endorsed Afghan plans to hold reconciliation talks with moderate Taliban members. “We must support efforts by the government of Afghanistan to separate the extremists of al Qaeda and the Taliban from those who joined their ranks, not out of conviction but out of desperation,” Clinton said in an address laying out the new U.S. strategy for the region that President Obama announced last week

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Clinton doesn’t rule out Iran talks at Afghanistan conference

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was coy Monday about whether she would meet Iranian delegates at an international conference on Afghanistan, and she urged Tehran to play a positive role in helping stabilize its neighbor. “I believe that there will be an opening by this conference that will enable all the countries, including Iran, to come forward,” Clinton told reporters aboard her plane en route to The Hague for Tuesday’s conference.

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Dozens dead in Pakistan mosque attack

A devastating suicide blast struck a mosque in the strife-torn tribal region of Pakistan Friday, killing at least 51 people and wounding more than 100 others, local officials said. The casualty toll was expected to rise in the blast, which occurred near the Afghanistan border in the Bigiari area of Jamrod sub-division in Khyber Agency.

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Flag rises for Pakistan’s returned chief justice

Pakistan’s fired chief justice was reinstated in a flag-raising ceremony at his house Sunday after the government bowed to protesters’ demands following days of massive demonstrations. The flag-raising was ceremonial. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will not renew his oath of office because his firing by former President Pervez Musharraf was deemed illegal.

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Match referee: We were sitting ducks

The match referee hailed as a hero for shielding a wounded colleague during an attack by gunmen on the Sri Lankan cricket team has criticized Pakistani security forces for failing to protect players and match officials. Chris Broad, a former England international, said he and colleagues had been left to be “sitting ducks” after the driver of the minivan in which they were traveling was killed in Tuesday’s ambush in Lahore.

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Analysis: Attack puts sport in terror gunsights

The media are in place, thousands of fans watching and major stars present. It’s not hard to see why sport makes a tempting target for terrorists and, say security experts, Tuesday’s attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team could set the two worlds on a new collision course. At least six security personnel were killed when a gang of 12 gunmen opened fire on a convoy carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore that left eight players and their coach injured

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