troop withdrawal news stories on Newser

US Support for Afghan War Plummets

Rob Quinn — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:00:05 CDT

American support for the war in Afghanistan has reached an all-time low, according to the latest New York Times / CBS poll. Some 69% of those polled believe the US shouldn't be fighting in Afghanistan, up from 53% just four months ago. Support has plunged among both Democrats and Republicans,...

Sarkozy Wants Out of Afghanistan Next Year

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:52:05 CST

France and Afghanistan agree NATO should speed up by a year its timetable for handing all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said today, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance. Sarkozy also announced that all French combat troops will leave the...

Iraq Detaining US Contractors

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:50:43 CST

Many foreign contractors—possibly hundreds, and including Americans who work for the US Embassy—have been detained in Iraq in recent weeks, for periods ranging from a few hours to almost three weeks. Iraqi authorities are cracking down on these contractors in the wake of last month's American troop withdrawal...

Afghan Desertion Rates Soar as US Withdraws

Mark Russell — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:11:38 CDT

Desertions from the Afghan army are soaring this year, amounting to one in seven of the country's 170,000 soldiers in the first six months of 2011, and casting doubts on the government's ability to maintain its own security, reports the Washington Post . The trend—more than twice the desertion...

Adm. Mullen: For Smooth Iraq Withdrawal, 'Now Is the Time'

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:45:29 CDT

Iraq's indecision on whether to ask American forces to stay beyond the end of the year is pushing the US close to the point where a smooth, safe troop withdrawal will be jeopardized, the top US military officer said today upon arriving in the country. Adm. Mike Mullen said that...

US Bars Audit of Vast Mercenary Army in Iraq

Matt Cantor — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:21:29 CDT

The US is laying the groundwork for what amounts to a mercenary army in Iraq of unprecedented size—but the State Department is withholding information about it from a top watchdog, Wired reports. “Our audit of the program is making no progress,” says Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for...

In Afghanistan, US Troops Begin to Withdraw

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:16:06 CDT

President Obama's troop drawdown has begun: About 650 troops left after their rotations ended Wednesday, and they will not be replaced. "As part of the drawdown the first US troops have left Afghanistan," says a military spokesperson. About a third of the 100,000 US forces in the country will...

US Shuts Down Afghan Student Exchange Program

Tim Karan — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:40:07 CDT

The State Department has suspended its student exchange program with Afghanistan as more participants started abandoning the program and fleeing to Canada instead of returning home. The Youth Exchange and Study program has brought hundreds of Afghan students to the US since 2004, but the State Department quietly put it...

US Willing to Leave 10K Troops in Iraq

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:55:46 CDT

The deadline for the departure of most American troops from Iraq arrives at the end of this year, but the White House is prepared to keep up to 10,000 troops in place after that point. Of course, such a move would require Iraq's deeply divided government making a formal...