President Donald Trump outlined a revised vision for the U.S. war in Afghanistan on Monday, pledging to end a strategy of “nation-building” and instead institute a policy aimed more squarely at addressing the terrorist threat that emanates from the region. “I share the American people’s frustration,” he said. “I also share their frustration over a […]
Afghanistan
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage says thousands of Mainers fought for Confederacy
If those seeking to remove the statues of Confederate heroes are successful, Gov. Paul LePage asked if they’ll next “take my books” and clear library shelves in a bid to strip away history. During a wide-ranging radio interview with Bangor’s WVOM, the governor blasted the press as “pencil terrorists,” defended Robert E. Lee and bemoaned […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine’s congressional delegation split on Trump’s new Afghan policy
A divided Maine congressional delegation generally reacted with hope that President Donald Trump’s new strategy toward Afghanistan might achieve the success that has eluded American forces there for the past 16 years. “I am hopeful this path forward will support our country’s national security and help stabilize the region,” said U.S. Sen. Angus King, an […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Analysis: Donald Trump promises victory, but his plan is murky
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is vowing to win what has seemed to be an unwinnable war. How he plans to do so is still murky despite the months of internal deliberations that ultimately persuaded Trump to stick with a conflict he has long opposed. In a 26-minute address to the nation Monday, Trump […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump to outline Afghan strategy on TV at 9 p.m. Monday
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will use a nationally televised address to outline for a war-weary nation the strategy he believes will best position the U.S. to eventually declare victory in Afghanistan after 16 years of combat and lives lost. The speech Monday night will also give Trump a chance for a reset after […]
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Medically retired Livermore Falls veteran continues to challenge herself
Helaina Lake sits at home with her support dog, Xena. Lake was injured in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan five years ago, which left her with extensive scarring on her legs, and the amputation of one of her fingers. LIVERMORE FALLS — Helaina Lake hoped to return to active military duty when she recovered from […]
Posted inNation / World
Two U.S. soldiers die battling Islamic State militants in Afghanistan
Two U.S. service members died during operations against the Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday. A Pentagon spokesman, Capt. Jeff Davis, said the deaths occurred overnight in Afghanistan’s Nangahar province, where a small but virulent Islamic State cell poses a threat for Afghan and U.S. coalition forces. It was the third […]
Posted inNation / World
Afghanistan: 36 Islamic State fighters killed by large blast
A general view of Achin district, in Jalalabad, after U.S. forces dropped Thursday the bomb, Afghanistan, Friday, April 14, 2017. U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck an Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear weapon every used in combat by the U.S. military, Pentagon officials […]
Posted inNation / World
Pentagon: U.S. dropped largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan
This photo provided by Eglin Air Force Base shows the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. The Pentagon says U.S. forces in Afghanistan dropped the military’s largest non-nuclear bomb on an Islamic State target in Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said it was the first-ever combat use of the bomb, known as the GBU-43, which he […]
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Islamic State may look to Afghanistan
On November 21, an Islamist terrorist entered the Shia Muslim Baqir ul-Uloom mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. He detonated his explosive-laden suicide vest, killing 30 people and wounding more than 70. Afghanistan’s Taliban militant organization denied responsibility for the attack. However, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria claimed credit for the slaughter, touting it […]