YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Panetta praises Afghan security move

    By By The Associated Press | Associated Press – Mon, Dec 31, 2012

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the Afghan government's announcement of a new step in putting Afghan forces in charge of the nation's security is evidence that the country is on the path to self-governance.

    Panetta commented on Kabul's announcement Monday that the next phase of transferring security responsibilities from NATO to Afghan forces will begin in two months. It's the fourth step in a five-step process that began in 2011 and is scheduled to finish with Afghan forces fully in charge of security by the end of 2014.

    By then, the U.S.-led NATO combat mission is to end. The Obama administration is currently considering how many U.S. troops it would keep there for a follow-on mission, which likely would include counterterrorism.

    There are now 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

    Loading...

    More Politics News

     

    News for You »

    • Kim and Kanye's Baby Name Is Not That Strange

      It's being reported that rapper Kanye West and his reality star girlfriend Kim Kardashian have named their brand-new baby, born this weekend, Kaidence Donda West. Donda was Kanye's late mother's name, so that makes sense, but, um, Kaidence? What's going on with Kaidence?

    • Man charged with tossing wife off cruise ship

      SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California grand jury has indicted a Florida man on charges he strangled his ex-wife and tossed her off a cruise ship in Italy.

    • Rick Perry Goes to War Against Connecticut

      Rick Perry, the Texas governor and 2012 "oops" presidential candidate, is spending the beginning of this week in Connecticut. Perry, as the governor of Texas, has little on-its-face reason to be in Connecticut. Except, of course, for one: Texas's unemployment rate, which at 6.4 percent in April is significantly lower than the national average, is still not quite ideal. Perry wants to bring jobs to his state. And, as he sees it, some of those jobs could come from Connecticut.

    • GOP Congressman Wants to Ban Abortion to Save Masturbating Fetuses

      In a preview of the many pronouncements to come on the floor of Congress as the House debates a legislative ban on all abortions after 20 weeks, allow us to introduce you to Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), who believes that abortion should be banned earlier than the Supreme Court says it should because, in part, he knows fetuses feel pain. He knows this because he says he's seen male fetuses begin masturbating in the womb around 15 weeks into a pregnancy.

    • Bieber behind wheel as car hits man in Hollywood

      LOS ANGELES (AP) — Video shows Justin Bieber running into a photographer with his white Ferrari in Hollywood, but police say there was no crime and the injuries aren't life-threatening.

    • Miss Utah's Pageant Answer Is the Worst You've Ever Seen

      The only time normal people seem to care about national beauty pageants is when one of the contestants messes up the question-and-answer round in the worst way possible. Well, it happened again last night at the Miss USA pageant, with Miss Utah giving an answer so bad that it eclipsed all other terrible pageant answers before her. Meet 21-year-old Marissa Powell. She is from Salt Lake City. And this is the full, cringe-worthy sequence you will be seeing a lot of this week:

    • Russell Brand asked Katy Perry for a divorce over text message

      Russell Brand sure knows how to treat a lady. Especially his wife.

    • The 14-year-old kid arrested over his pro-NRA shirt now faces a year in jail

      The West Virginia eighth-grader who was suspended and arrested in late April after he refused to remove a t-shirt supporting the National Rifle Association appeared in court this week and was formally charged with obstructing an officer.

    Show More
    Loading...

    Follow Yahoo! News