Afghanistan

KABUL - The mayor of Kabul continued to run Afghanistan's capital city Wednesday despite being sentenced to four years in jail for corruption, raising questions about President Hamid Karzai's campaign to prove he's serious about tackling graft and bribery in the government. Full Story »

KABUL (Reuters) - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited U.S. commanders in Afghanistan on Wednesday, promising that President Barack Obama's surge of extra forces would give them what they need for success against the Taliban. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The senior American general in Afghanistan is predicting success for President Barack Obama's revamped war strategy, telling Congress it's the best available approach. Full Story »

KABUL (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday toured the nerve centre of NATO command in Afghanistan, telling officers an imminent troop surge will turn around the eight-year war against the Taliban. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Killing or capturing Osama bin Laden is the key to defeating the Al-Qaeda terror network, the NATO commander in Afghanistan told US legislators in testimony on Capitol Hill. Full Story »

KABUL (AFP) - The mayor of Kabul, sentenced to four years in prison in a landmark corruption case, has gone back to work and said Wednesday he was innocent, branding his conviction a conspiracy. Full Story »

SHIGAL, Afghanistan (AFP) - After two hours shuddering along a tortuous road, the US reconstruction team's convoy had just caught sight of the Afghan village when a salvo of heavy gunfire devastated the rural calm. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The U.S. office overseeing billions of dollars for Afghanistan's rebuilding lacks leadership and focus at a time when aggressive, independent oversight of the country's reconstruction is more important than ever, three senators told President Barack Obama on Tuesday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden is an iconic figure among extremists who must be captured or killed in order to defeat al Qaeda, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said on Tuesday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The State Department is cutting ties with the security contractor protecting the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan following an investigation of allegations that guards engaged in lewd behavior and sexual misconduct at their living quarters. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department will not renew the contract of a security company embroiled in a scandal involving the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, where guards were accused of drunken conduct and sexual hazing. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. general in Afghanistan says the Taliban — up to 27,000 fighters in the country's south — is his main focus. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. commander in Afghanistan and the top diplomat closed ranks on Tuesday around President Barack Obama's orders to send in 30,000 more troops, saying the strategy would halt Taliban momentum within a year. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - The general in charge of the war in Afghanistan is telling Congress that President Barack Obama's new war strategy is achievable and that combat force levels can be reduced starting in the summer of 2011. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Britain insisted Tuesday that progress was being made in Afghanistan despite the death of its 100th soldier there this year and the war's increasing unpopularity with the public. Full Story »

KABUL - After meeting Tuesday with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said it may be five years before his army is ready to take on insurgents — a blunt warning that the planned exit strategy for U.S. troops from Afghanistan 18 months from now could grind slowly through 2014. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Washington's ambassador to Kabul on Tuesday said he supports a decision by President Barack Obama to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, but admitted having earlier doubts about the size of the troop surge. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A surge of US troops into Afghanistan will allow NATO-led forces to "reverse insurgent momentum" and ensure the ultimate defeat of the Taliban, the commander of the allied mission said on Tuesday. Full Story »