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Although overshadowed by the clemency bestowed on Chelsea Manning, on Tuesday the news broke that President Obama was commuting the sentence of Oscar López Rivera. The push to release the terrorist had been a cause célèbre in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and Latin America for years. He counts among his supporters New York Mayor Bill de Blasio,

The United States will revoke or deny visas to International Criminal Court personnel seeking to investigate alleged war crimes and other abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere, and may do the same with those who seek action against Israel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. Pompeo,“If you are responsible for the proposed ICC investigation of U.S. personnel in connection with the situation in Afghanistan, you should not assume that you still have or will get a visa or will be permitted to enter the United States,”

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 13, 2011 – A combined Afghan and International Security Assistance Force team detained multiple suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in southern Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported. The force was searching in the Musa Qalah district of Helmand province for the leader, who places mines throughout the region and uses military uniforms in ambush attacks against Afghan forces. Also yesterday, combined forces detained multiple insurgents in a separate operation in Helmand’s Kajaki district while searching for a Taliban leader who distributes explosives for insurgent attacks and oversees the taxation of illegal narcotic...

* 'Terrorist' designation would lead to punitive measures * Five Democratic senators urge Clinton to make the move (Adds more from State Department spokesman) By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it was looking into putting the Pakistani Taliban, the group tied to the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square, on the U.S. list of "foreign terrorist" groups. Adding the Pakistani Taliban to the list would trigger punitive measures such as freezing assets tied to the group, barring foreign nationals with links to it from entering the United States and...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2010 – Afghan and international forces seized enemy weapons and killed insurgent attackers in operations in Afghanistan in recent days, military officials reported. The Afghan National Army, supported by an international security patrol, destroyed 16 rockets and a mortar round in Kandahar province Feb. 7 and yesterday. The Afghan soldiers were patrolling near Darivshan village when they received a tip about a weapons cache from an Afghan civilian. The soldiers went to the site and recovered 16 107 mm rockets. The following day, the same patrol element found an 82 mm mortar round in a garden near...

There's something about these big events that cause MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews to go off script and say something seemingly ridiculous. Matthews has publicly admitted President Barack Obama has given him a thrill up his leg after a campaign speech in Feb. 2008, and uttered "oh God," earlier this year after an Obama address to Congress, prior to the Republican response from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal earlier this year. And on Dec. 1, he referred to West Point as "the enemy camp" in coverage following a speech from Obama announcing his intentions to increase troops in Afghanistan. And, later...

Coalition forces in Afghanistan killed 11 Taliban militants and detained two suspects during a firefight with members of a major roadside-bomb emplacing network in Kandahar province yesterday. In Maiwand district, west of the city of Kandahar, coalition forces targeted a Taliban network responsible for local roadside bomb attacks, including recent assaults that killed several International Security Assistance Force soldiers. Militants barricaded inside the compounds refused to surrender and opened fire on the coalition forces with machine guns and AK-47 rifles.Coalition forces first held their fire to allow women and children to exit the compounds, after which they were moved to...

2/11/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Feb. 10, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here. In Afghanistan, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs conducted shows of force over an enemy compound near Sangin and over a coalition-forces convoy in the vicinity of Tarin Kowt. The shows of force were conducted in order to deter enemy activities in the areas. The missions were declared successful by the on-scene joint terminal attack controller. In Bari Kowt, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles conducted...

AUSTRALIAN forces in Afghanistan have fought off another coordinated attack by Taliban extremists, the second in two days. Five Australian troops were doing reconstruction work in an alley in the Oruzgan province at about midday yesterday (Afghanistan time) when they were attacked with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. "An aggressive and precise response by our soldiers repelled the Taliban attack,'' Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said. "The fighting was reported as being close and intense and it was the firepower, mobility and protection the soldiers had at their disposal that again proved the difference in this contact.'' No...