More civilian contractors working for American companies than American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year for the first time, and some survivors are left uncompensated.

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Afghan War Risks Are Shifting to Contractors

Even by the standards of destitution in Afghan refugee camps, the story of Sayid Mohammad is a hard-luck one.

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In Grip of Cold, Afghan Family Buries 8th Child

The CIA is expected to maintain a large clandestine presence in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the departure of conventional U.S. troops as part of a plan by the Obama administration to rely on a combination of spies and Special Operations forces to protect U.S. interests in the two longtime war zones, U.S. officials said. Read full article > >

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CIA digs in as Americans withdraw from Iraq, Afghanistan

BBC Scotland’s Cameron Buttle gives a behind the scenes look at a British army base in Afghanistan.

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VIDEO: Sending news from Afghanistan

The U.S. military is planning to elevate the role of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan as it shifts away from a combat focus to a mission that places greater emphasis on advising Afghan forces and raids to kill top insurgent leaders, senior U.S. officials said. Read full article > >

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U.S. to elevate Special Operations forces’ role in Afghanistan

The U.S. military is planning to elevate the role of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan as it shifts away from a combat focus to a mission that places greater emphasis on advising Afghan forces and raids to kill top insurgent leaders, senior U.S. officials said. Read full article > >

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U.S. to elevate Special Operations forces’ role in Afghanistan

The U.S. military is planning to elevate the role of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan as it shifts away from a combat focus to a mission that places greater emphasis on advising Afghan forces and raids to kill top insurgent leaders, senior U.S. officials said. Read full article > >

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U.S. to elevate Special Operations forces’ role in Afghanistan

The narrative that the Obama administration has laid out for winding down the war in Afghanistan has a familiar feel: It is intended to evoke the gradual withdrawal from Iraq. But the administration faces a fundamentally different challenge in Afghanistan and a host of problems that it did not have in the latter days of the Iraq war. Read full article > >

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In winding down war, a fundamentally different challenge in Afghanistan than in Iraq

BRUSSELS — U.S. and NATO officials struggled Thursday to clarify how long their troops would remain engaged in combat in Afghanistan, a day after Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said U.S. forces would shift toward a training and advisory role next year. Read full article > >

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U.S., NATO seek to clarify Panetta comments on ending Afghan mission

The report summarized the views of Taliban detainees who said that they were benefiting from cooperation with some Afghan officials and Pakistan’s intelligence service.

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NATO Plays Down Report of Collaboration Between Taliban and Pakistan

The withdrawal of foreign troops, aid workers and billions of dollars in assistance has the potential to undo the fragile progress Afghans have made under the occupation.

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Afghans Fear Economic Downturn as Foreigners Leave

A NATO soldier was killed on Tuesday in southern Afghanistan when a man wearing an Afghan Army uniform turned his gun on him.

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Man Dressed as Afghan Soldier Kills NATO Service Member

The Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret Nato report seen by the BBC.

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Pakistan security ‘helps Taliban’

With help from a program that aids badly burned veterans, Joey Paulk received surgery that revived a measure of his self-confidence.

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The Hard Road Back | Scars of Battle: For Soldier Disfigured in Afghanistan, a Way to Return to the World

Two British private security contractors working in Afghanistan are charged with carrying unlicensed AK-47s through the capital city, Kabul.

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Britons face Afghan gun charges