News from US war in Afghanistan

News http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6660297917839456177

12/02/10 NYTimes: Cables Describe Scale of Afghan Corruption as Overwhelming From hundreds of diplomatic cables, Afghanistan emerges as a looking-glass land where bribery, extortion and embezzlement are the norm and the honest man is a distinct outlier.

12/02/10 DoD: Marine Casualty Identified Cpl. Chad S. Wade, 22, of Bentonville, Ark., died Dec. 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

12/02/10 AP: Dutchman kidnapped in Afghanistan freed A Dutch aid worker kidnapped more than a month ago in northern Afghanistan has been released, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The man, whose identity was not released, was kidnapped by four gunmen on Oct. 25 together with his Afghan driver.

12/02/10 radioaustralianews: US grenade killed British aid worker in Afghanistan British foreign secretary William Hague has confirmed aid worker Linda Norgrove was killed by a grenade thrown by a US soldier sent to rescue her. The 36-year-old Scottish woman was taken hostage by militants in Afghanistan in September.

12/02/10 APP: Afghans’ repatriation a big challenge for Pakistan Pakistan faces twin tasks of repatriation of 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees and deportation of over three million unregistered ones with all stakeholders urgently required to coordinate their efforts to meet this daunting challenge in prevailing times of economic crunch.

12/02/10 NATO: ISAF Casualty - eastern Afghanistan An International Security Assistance Force servicemember died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today.

12/02/10 NATO: ISAF Casualty - southern Afghanistan An International Security Assistance Force servicemember died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualties Identified (6 of 6) Pvt. Buddy W. McLain, 24, of Mexico, Maine...assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky...died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualties Identified (5 of 6) Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, 19, of Senoia, Ga...assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky...died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualties Identified (4 of 6) Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis...assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky...died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualties Identified (3 of 6) Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, Calif...assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky...died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualties Identified (2 of 6) Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio...assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky...died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualties Identified (1 of 6) Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, Ind...assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky...died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

12/01/10 NATO: ISAF Casualty - southern Afghanistan An International Security Assistance Force servicemember died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan yesterday. It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

12/01/10 DoD: Army Casualty Identified 1st. Lt. Scott F. Milley, 23, of Sudbury, Mass., died Nov. 30 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

12/01/10 DoD: Air Force Casualty Identified Lt. Col. Gwendolyn A. Locht, 46, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was medically evacuated from Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 22 for treatment of a non-combat related illness. She died Nov. 16 in Houston, Texas. Locht was assigned to the 96th Inpatient Operations Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

12/01/10 CNN: Soldier accused of misconduct in Afghanistan pleads guilty The first of seven Army soldiers to face court-martial in connection with the deaths of Afghan citizens pleaded guilty Wednesday to four of five charges. Attorneys for Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens entered guilty pleas on his behalf at his court-martial at Fort Lewis-McChord, Washington, on charges of serious misconduct in Afghanistan.

12/01/10 whdh: Sudbury soldier, 22, killed in Afghanistan Sudbury town officials have confirmed that a local soldier has been killed overseas. Scott Milley, 22, died in afghanistan. The circumstances around his death are unclear right now.

12/01/10 AFP: US deploys ‘game-changer’ weapon to Afghanistan It looks and acts like something best left in the hands of Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo," but this latest dream weapon is real -- and the US Army sees it becoming the Taliban's worst nightmare.

12/01/10 shropshirestar: Telford man dies in Afghan blast A 34-year-old Shropshire man has died in an explosion while working in Afghanistan. Mark Fitzpatrick, from Telford, was disposing of ammunition in the Parwan province when the tragedy happened. He had been working for DynCorp International, an American company...Mr Fitzpatrick, who lived in Priorslee, was killed on November 20.