Afghanistan

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FILE - In this June 17, 2019 file photo, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani speaks with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the start of their meeting inside 10 Downing Street in London. Three Taliban prisoners who were to be freed in exchange for an American and an Australian national, both kidnapped in 2016, are still in custody in Bagram prison, north of the capital Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Friday, Nov. 15. The three Taliban prisoners did not show up at an exchange site that had been agreed upon with the U.S., though Ghani said they would be freed. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)

Taliban say prisoner swap promised by Kabul fails to happen

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

In this Aug. 7, 2019 photo, Thomas (Tomy) Parker, a 29-year-old Marine Corp veteran and triple amputee, trains and gets exercise near downtown Ronan, Mont. The Montana Marine who lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan came home to a hero's welcome and a house was built for him, but he lost it to addiction. Parker attended rehab, is being treated for PTSD and is now competing in wheelchair races. Parker often wears the same orange pants he was issued while serving time for possession of methamphetamine and heroin. (Tommy Martino/The Missoulian via AP)

Marine who lost legs to IED competing in half-marathon races

By PAUL HAMBY - Associated Press

In this Sept. 28, 2019, file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks to journalists after voting at Amani high school, near the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Ghani said Tuesday, Nov. 12, his government has released three Taliban figures in an effort to have the insurgents free an American and an Australian professor they abducted in 2017. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani: 3 Taliban released for held U.S., Australian

By Rahim Faiez - Associated Press

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, participates in a briefing with President Donald Trump and senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Mark Milley, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman: U.S. troops in Afghanistan to stay ‘several more years’

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

Australian army whistleblower David McBride leaves the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. McBride says he will defend himself at trial next year rather than face potential delays by hiring a lawyer with a security clearance. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)

Australian whistleblower to represent himself at trial

By ROD McGUIRK - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 28, 2019 file photo, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's top political leader, third from left, arrives with other members of the Taliban delegation for talks in Moscow, Russia. The Taliban said Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, that a fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks is to be held in China next week. The announcement raises hopes for renewed negotiations, even as violence surges in Afghanistan’s 18-year war. Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said Tuesday that the talks are planned for Oct. 28 and 29. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Afghan president, Chinese FM discuss dialogue with Taliban

Associated Press

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2019, photo, Mohammad Hasan, who lost seven members of his family in a U.S. air strike, speaks with an Associated Press reporter, in Jalalabad city east of Kabul, Afghanistan. A report released Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019 by Human Rights Watch documents mounting atrocities by CIA-trained Afghan forces, increasing civilian casualties by both U.S. and Afghan forces, and demands investigations into whether American forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The 34-page report is the culmination of a nearly two-year investigation. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Report says CIA-trained Afghan forces behind war atrocities

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

Afghans had to bury three times as many civilians — a reported record-breaking 4,313 — from July through September compared with the same period last year as a result of the war between the U.S.-backed government in Kabul and Taliban militants. (Associated Press/File)

Afghanistan civilian casualties rise, U.S. says

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

A wounded man is brought by stretcher into a hospital after a mortar was fired by insurgents in Haskamena district of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. An Afghan official says at least several people have been killed during Friday prayers when a mortar fired by insurgents blasted through the roof of a mosque. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

AP FACT CHECK: Afghanistan isn’t safer than Chicago

By KATHY GANNON and HOPE YEN - Associated Press

Economy of Scale Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

How ‘Economy of Force’ warfare works and why Trump should use it

By Gary Anderson

In this artist's rendering provided by C&amp;G Partners, the exhibit &quot;Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden,&quot; is shown at the National September 11 Museum in New York. Newly declassified U.S. government artifacts are part of the exhibit, opening Nov. 15, 2019, that traces the decade-long, secret search for Osama bin Laden at the site of the New York terrorist attack he commandeered. (C&amp;G Partners via AP)

The Latest: Top spy critical of efforts to catch bin Laden

Associated Press

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, walks Gen. Scott Miller, right, chief of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, at the U.S. military headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. He told reporters traveling with him that he believes the U.S. can reduce its force in Afghanistan without hurting the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor) **FILE**

Afghan official: Taliban storm checkpoint, kill 15 policemen

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 28, 2019 file photo, Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha, speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. The Taliban said Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, that a fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks is to be held in China next week. The announcement raises hopes for renewed negotiations, even as violence surges in Afghanistan’s 18-year war. Shaheen said Tuesday that the talks are planned for Oct. 28 and 29. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Taliban say new intra-Afghan peace talks to be held in China

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

Nancy Pelosi meets top officials in Afghanistan

Associated Press

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, is greeted by U.S. military personnel upon arriving in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. He told reporters traveling with him that he believes the U.S. can reduce its force in Afghanistan without hurting the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor)

US defense chief in Afghanistan for firsthand look at war

By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press

Afghan men bury victims of Friday's deadly bomb blast in the mosque in the village of Jodari at Haskamena district of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. Funerals are being held in eastern Afghanistan for the victims of Friday's deadly bomb blast in a village mosque which killed 62 people during prayers. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

Afghan village buries its dead after mosque bombing kills 66

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

A wounded man is brought by stretcher into a hospital after a mortar was fired by insurgents in Haskamena district of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. An Afghan official says at least several people have been killed during Friday prayers when a mortar fired by insurgents blasted through the roof of a mosque. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

Officials: Blast at Afghan mosque kills 62 during prayers

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

A wounded man is brought by stretcher into a hospital after a mortar was fired by insurgents in Haskamena district of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. An Afghan official says at least several people have been killed during Friday prayers when a mortar fired by insurgents blasted through the roof of a mosque. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

Blast at Afghan mosque kills 62 during prayers

By Rahim Faiez - Associated Press

A wounded man is brought by stretcher into a hospital after a mortar was fired by insurgents in Haskamena district of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. An Afghan official says at least several people have been killed during Friday prayers when a mortar fired by insurgents blasted through the roof of a mosque. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

The Latest: UN chief strongly condemns mosque attack

Associated Press

UN: 85 civilians killed in attacks targeting Afghan election

By RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press