'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America

Pakistani Ambassador Sherry Rehman doesn't mince words. She rolls them out like fresh dough, pounds them into heaps and injects them with a "cognitive disconnect" or a "bilateral trajectory."

The Afghan military is "marginally" capable of repelling attacks from the Islamist extremists who antagonize large parts of the country, according to an internal Pentagon assessment that raises red flags for President Obama's plan to withdraw the majority of US troops next year.
The Afghan military is "marginally" capable of repelling attacks from the Islamist extremists who antagonize large parts of the country, according to an internal Pentagon assessment that raises red flags for President Obama's plan to withdraw the majority of US troops next year.

If CNN's coverage of the election of Pope Francis I on Wednesday afternoon is any indication, Jeff Zucker and his minions are not ready for prime time — or any time for that matter.

When Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford took command of the war in Afghanistan on Feb. 10, he succeeded a line of hard-luck officers who had succumbed to scandal or felt the White House's sting over requests for more troops.

Gen. John Allen will not pursue the top U.S. military post in Europe after all. According to various media, the former U.S. commander in Afghanistan — who was picked to lead the U.S. forces in Europe and nominated last year — is going to retire.

Gen. John Allen is retiring from the military instead of enduring what likely would have been a messy Senate confirmation process to be NATO supreme commander.

Marine Gen. John Allen, the former top commander in Afghanistan, is retiring from the military instead of enduring what likely would have been a messy Senate confirmation process to be NATO supreme commander.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday officially banned the nation's security forces from requesting international airstrikes during operations in residential areas.

The top American commander in Afghanistan said on Sunday that he believes the U.S.-led NATO coalition can operate effectively despite the Afghan president's decision to ban Afghan security forces from requesting airstrikes in residential areas.

The Pentagon has given Marine Gen. John Allen, the former top commander in Afghanistan, time off to rest before facing a Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination to be NATO's next supreme commander, defense officials said Wednesday, pushing back against reports that he is considering abandoning the nomination.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced Wednesday that the Pentagon is creating a new medal for cyberwarriors and drone pilots.

Defense secretary Leon E. Panetta released a statement welcoming President Obama's decision to halve the number of U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan, from about 68,000 to 34,000 by this time next year.

U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford took over Sunday as the new and probably last commander of all U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan.

The White House is moving forward with Gen. John Allen's nomination to become commander of NATO forces in Europe after the Pentagon cleared him of any wrongdoing in exchanging emails with a Florida woman linked to the sex scandal that brought down David Petraeus and forced him to resign as CIA director.
He told Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that he is innocent of misconduct, according to Col. David Lapan, Dempsey's spokesman.