All Blog Posts from World Watch

Eight more troops were killed today in Afghanistan, bringing us to 53 dead this month –the highest toll so far in the eight-year-old war. It comes in advance of yet another meeting the president is holding to decide about his Afghan war strategy. He'll meet with the joint chiefs, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, on Friday.

But while many in the blogosphere and the 24-hour media universe – as well as former White House officials – denounce the meetings as dithering, a group of servicemen here in Florida indicated they believe otherwise.

Addressing servicemen and women at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, President Obama said, "I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm's way. I won't risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary." The remark prompted rancorous applause.

I sure didn't see it coming. But I should have. I've heard it enough from friends and contacts in the military and the diplomatic corps: "Let's not rush headlong into this like we did with Iraq. Not again."

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Nearly one out of six American service members in Iraq, about 20,000 in all, are involved in a massive logistical operation with one overriding goal: Getting our stuff and leaving.

Johan Spanner writes in The New York Times today about the challenges facing the military as it sets about dismantling about 300 bases and removing 1.5 million pieces of American equipment — everything from weapons and vehicles to coffeemakers — from Iraq.

Six years after the U.S.-led invasion, the "largest movement of soldiers and matériel in more than four decades" (according to Spanner) is further complicated by continued attacks for Iraqi insurgents; consideration of what will be left behind for Iraqis; and U.S. military needs in Afghanistan.

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Pakistan's influential army on Wednesday came out in a rare public criticism of a recent U.S. aid bill to the country, citing its "serious concern" on provisions which have prompted a wave of criticism from hardcore Pakistani nationalists.

The controversy has erupted just as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to finalize a plan for stabilizing Afghanistan, Pakistan’s next door neighbor, where an insurgency led by the Taliban and supported by al Qaeda has gathered momentum in the past year, causing a growing number of U.S. and NATO military casualties.

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The Taliban are well known for funding their insurgency through illicit poppy fields, but the U.S. military may be unwittingly adding an estimated $80-160 million over the last year to their coffers.

According to a report from GlobalPost, military procurement contracts are filtering via local contractors to the Taliban. In effect, the local population is paying a protection fee to the Taliban with Pentagon funding.

A variety of local Afghan vendors are paid around $800 million a year by the U.S. to supply the Afghan police and military with items ranging from gas and water to winter socks and tires, and the Taliban reportedly extract between 10 and 20 percent of the fees.

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Five years after the infamous Abu Ghraib torture photos came to light, Lynndie England says the government's "softening up tactics" are acceptable ways to get information from prisoners.

"Compared to what they do to us, that's like nothing," England says in the BBC video.

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While the U.S. adheres to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays in the military, its staunchest ally across the Atlantic is nine years removed from dramatically changing its own stance toward gay and lesbian service members – allowing completely open military service without fear of reprisal. And nearly a decade after the policy shift, the UK's Independent reports the British military, and its members, have grown pretty comfortable in their own skin.

Openly gay service was allowed in 2000 after a two-year court battle involving four service members that was eventually settled by the European Court of Human Rights. Since then, the report details a steady progression toward fuller openness – from initial reluctance on the part of gay service members to "out" themselves, despite the rule change, to eventually marching in Gay Pride parades and moving into military housing with their partners.

And this month's cover of Soldier magazine, the British Army's official publication, features openly gay Trooper James Wharton next to the headline "Pride."

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Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, on Wednesday received complaints from Pakistan’s leaders over Taliban militants being driven into the country following recent American military action in southern Afghanistan, senior Pakistani government officials said.

“In meetings between Holbrooke and our leaders, this matter came up as a priority issue,” said one senior Pakistani official who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

Ambassador Abdul Basit, spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, confirmed that the concerns were conveyed, indicating an unusual case of some friction in another close relationship built between the two countries in the war on terror. “I can confirm that this is a continuing concern for us and we have conveyed this concern again to Ambassador Holbrooke,” Basit told CBS News.

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The Taliban is on the move, in a new offensive to prevent people from voting in the August 20 elections.

The "CBS Evening News" Monday featured exclusive video of a U.S. operation to re-capture a small town of 2,500 people in the eastern part of the country.

The battle for Barge Matal started at dusk yesterday, reports CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark. Hundreds of Taliban overran the town – the largest in the eastern province of Nuristan – a week ago. A hundred U.S. troops from the 10th Mountain Division backed by the Afghanistan Army are now fighting to win it back.

This battle lasted an hour. One U.S. soldier was killed along with 10 insurgents.

Watch the exclusive video shot by CBS News cameras in Afghanistan:


Watch CBS Videos Online

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After being held captive for 74 days on the island of Sulu by the Abu Sayyaf (an al Qaeda-linked Islamic militant group), the fate of three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers still hangs in the balance, even as more than 1,000 government forces have withdrawn from their positions — a demand of the kidnappers.

“This is a complete turnaround from our previous position of not pulling out, because of our desire to settle this crisis peacefully,” said Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan in an interview with Sulu-based reporter Nickee Butlangan.

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As anger builds over the case of a U.S. Marine convicted of rape, a Philippine senator has revealed an alleged "secret" document that highlights the lopsided nature of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the United States and the Philippines.

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