The defense secretary said Saturday that the U.S. may slow its withdrawal from Afghanistan to make sure "progress sticks." NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analyst Network.
Ashton Carter, on a surprise visit to Afghanistan, said he was there to assess the situation on the ground and indicated that a "rethinking" of the U.S. troop withdrawal timetable was possible.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is in Afghanistan meeting with that country's new president, Ashraf Ghani, and discussing possible changes to the timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals.
In a country where women are seen but not often heard, Rula Ghani intends to play a prominent role. The wife of Afghanistan's new president hopes to help the country's most vulnerable people.
In Afghanistan, an unlikely sport has grabbed the nation's attention. Cricket only took root there a few decades ago, and only took off after the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
Surely it is not a welcome thought for the current White House that it is going to Congress for the Authorization for the Use of Military Force " ... just like President Bush."
Afghanistan has suffered through decades of war. The modern history of violence has seeped into the nation's ancient art of rug making — rugs now feature imagery of tanks, AK-47s and U.S. drones.
It happened last week in Afghanistan. It is illegal. But the mother felt she had no other way to support her family. It is the fourth recorded case of baby-selling there in the past year.