Clashes as Afghan Taliban edge closer to Helmand capital

Fighting is raging in Helmand as Afghan troops try to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the besieged capital of the southern poppy-growing province. Afghan forces fought back insurgents after they stormed Nawa district, just south of Lashkar Gah city, late on Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk.

Orlando shooter’s father attends Clinton rally

Seddique Mateen, the father of the suspect in the June mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub, secured a prime seat at a rally for Hillary Clinton on Monday outside the city. For 25 minutes, Mateen sat right behind the Democratic nominee for president as she remembered the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and laid out her policies.

Bowe Bergdahl’s lawyers want charges dropped after ‘meddling’ by John McCain

The legal team for U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl on Monday asked to have the charges against the former prisoner of war dismissed, arguing comments made by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain violated his due process rights. Bergdahl, 30, is facing a court-martial with a potential life sentence on charges of desertion and endangerment of U.S. troops after he walked away from his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and became a Taliban prisoner for five years.

Pentagon chief in Afghanistan to meet with US commanders

Secretary Ash Carter is in Afghanistan to meet with U.S. commanders in the wake of a pledge by NATO allies to keep troop levels stable as they battle a resilient Taliban. It's Carter's second stop in a war zone in as many days, part of a weeklong trip that has underscored America's growing commitment to two wars that President Barack Obama inherited but has not been able to end.

What Blair said to Bush: the 525 day route to the Iraq war that spawned a Parliamentary ‘contempt’ action

The 9/11 terror attacks on the US which killed 3000 people proved to be the catalyst for a fundamental change in the US and UK's approach to Iraq with talk of military action already on the agenda within a matter of weeks. The long-awaited Chilcot Report showed that while there was a public narrative of negotiation, the country was actively planning for a possible conflict after then president George Bush's famous summit with prime minister Tony Blair at his Crawford ranch in Texas in April, 2002.

PolitiFact: Obama overstates boost in trade with Mexico and Canada

President Barack Obama pauses while making a statement on Afghanistan from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The president said the U.S. will leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan when he completes his term, down slightly from the current number but well up from the 5,500 he announced previously, arguing America's interests depend on helping Afghanistan's struggling government fight continuing threats from the Taliban and others.

David Cameron to commit more British troops to Afghanistan

US president Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron during a group photograph at the Presidential Palace ahead of a working dinner on day one of the Nato summit The Prime Minister, attending the Nato summit in Warsaw, will announce that he is to deploy up to 50 additional personnel to help build up the beleaguered Afghan security forces. They will join the 450 British troops already in the country who had been due to return at the end of this year but will now have their mission extended into 2017.

Obama to maintain 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan into 2017

US President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he will maintain about 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan into 2017 through the end of his administration, slowing the planned drawdown of the US military presence in the country. Obama said the security situation in Afghanistan remains "precarious" and the country's security forces are still "not as strong as they need to be."

CHART: How The U.S. Troop Levels In Afghanistan Have Changed Under Obama

President Obama came into office pledging to end the U.S. military role in Afghanistan's war. But on Wednesday, the president announced there will still be around 8,400 American troops there when he leaves office in January, more than 15 years after America launched what's become the longest war in its history.

Obama to slow pace of Afghanistan troop withdrawal

President Barack Obama pauses while making a statement on Afghanistan from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The president said the U.S. will leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan when he completes his term, down slightly from the current number but well up from the 5,500 he announced previously, arguing America's interests depend on helping Afghanistan's struggling government fight continuing threats from the Taliban and others.

Obama to leave about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan at yeara s end

President Barack Obama said Wednesday the U.S. will leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan when he completes his term, down slightly from the current number but well up from the 5,500 he announced previously, arguing America's interests depend on helping Afghanistan's struggling government fight continuing threats from the Taliban and others. In a statement at the White House, Obama said he was acting after receiving recommendations from top military leaders who urged him to revise his earlier plan.

Obama Again Extends Troop Presence In Afghanistan

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that there will be 8,400 troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office, an increase from a previous announcement that there would be 5,500. WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama again stalled the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, announcing on Wednesday that he plans to keep 8,400 American troops there through the remainder of his presidency.

Senators warn against troop cuts in Afghanistan

The international military mission in Afghanistan will fail if troop levels are reduced further, with potentially dangerous repercussions for the rest of the world, a delegation of U.S. lawmakers warned during a visit to Kabul today. Fifteen years after an American-led operation toppled the Taliban in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Barack Obama is considering whether to maintain the current level of 9,800 U.S. troops or reduce it to 5,500 by the end of the year, as current plans call for.

Douglas Brinkley, Ryan Seacrest: Sunday guests

The Sunday morning chat programs will have politicians this Fourth of July weekend, but the lineup ranges from historians, such as Douglas Brinkley, to former "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest . The guest lineup: Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., and Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C., talk to CBS' "Face the Nation" form Kabul, Afghanistan, at 10:30 a.m. on WKMG-Channel 6. The program also features Mitt Romney and Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Calif.