Clinton trip comes amid debate on Afghanistan

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks Friday on a six-day trip to Europe and Russia that comes at a crucial time in the Obama administration’s decision-making on a strategy for Afghanistan. She will depart one day after the inaugural flight of the “lethal transit” agreement, signed in July by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, which allows transport of military personnel and equipment across Russia to support the U.S.-NATO mission in Afghanistan

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Obama team tries to hash out new plan for Afghanistan

As tensions mount over the best way forward in Afghanistan, top aides say President Obama is adamant about coming up with a new plan before deciding on troop levels. Rising violence and the resurgence of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan have put the Obama administration on defense as the war enters its ninth year

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Why the Pentagon Axed Its Afghanistan Warlord

Public beheadings in Afghanistan are usually associated with the Taliban, but on Monday it was Defense Secretary Robert Gates metaphorically wielding the ax from the Pentagon platform. Gates announced that he had asked for and received the resignation of his top commander in Afghanistan, Army General David McKiernan, after McKiernan spent only 11 months in that theater

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Gates: U.S. ‘not leaving Afghanistan’

Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared Monday that the United States will remain in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, no matter what President Obama decides on immediate troop levels. “We’re not leaving Afghanistan,” Gates said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that also included Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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Over 270 killed in India floods

The number of dead in devastating floods triggered by torrential rains in India has risen to at least 271, and about a million people have fled their homes, officials said Monday. At least 192 people have died in the southern state of Karnataka, its disaster-management secretary H.V

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People’s Republic of China marks 60th anniversary

China celebrates 60 years of PRC’s founding Typhoon Parma is expected to bring heavy rainfall and major property damage to the Philippines on Saturday, according to meteorologists. The storm was upgraded to a super typhoon Thursday as it churned towards the island nation with winds of 240 kph (150 mph)

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