President Hamid Karzai

US President Barack Obama will announce a history-shaping decision "within days" on whether to escalate the war in Afghanistan with tens of thousands more troops, the White House said Tuesday. Aides declined to comment on news reports that Obama would use a prime-time speech Tuesday to unveil plans to try to turn the worsening conflict around by ordering some 34,000 more US soldiers to the strife-torn country. Obama faces a US public sharply divided on the war and calls from some Democratic allies to set a flexible timetable for withdrawal eight years after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks. After ... Read Full Story

US President Barack Obama will announce a history-shaping decision "within days" on whether to escalate the war in Afghanistan with tens of thousands more troops, the White House said Tuesday. Aides declined to comment on news reports that Obama would use a prime-time speech Tuesday to unveil plans to try to turn the worsening conflict around by ordering some 34,000 more US soldiers to the strife-torn country. Obama faces a US public sharply divided on the war and calls from some Democratic allies to set a flexible timetable for withdrawal eight years after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks. After ... Read Full Story

The Afghan attorney general's office says 15 current and former Afghan ministers are under investigation for allegations of corruption that have plagued the government of President Hamid Karzai. Fazel Ahmad Faqiryar, the first deputy attorney general, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his office is probing allegations against three current members of Karzai's cabinet and 12 former ministers. In his inaugural address last week, Karzai pledged to arrest those who spread corruption. International leaders, who have threatened to hold back troops and development aid unless Karzai cleans up corruption in his government, is watching closely to see if he keeps his promise. Read Full Story

KABUL (Reuters) - Two Afghan cabinet ministers are being investigated under suspicion of embezzlement, a deputy attorney general said on Monday, at a time when President Hamid Karzai faces tough Western pressure to clean up his government. Fazel Ahmad Faqiryar declined to name the two ministers, but told Reuters that other officials were also being targeted by the inquiry. "If the ministers insist and don't show up for the interrogation, we have other legal means with which to proceed," said Faqiryar. Karzai, sworn in last week for a second five-year term after an election marred by fraud, has been under pressure by his Western ... Read Full Story

KABUL (Reuters) - Two Afghan cabinet ministers are being investigated for suspicion of embezzlement, a deputy attorney general said on Monday, at a time when President Hamid Karzai is under pressure to clean up his government. Fazel Ahmad Faqiryar declined to name the two ministers, but told Reuters other officials were also being targeted by the inquiry. "If the ministers insist and don't show up for the interrogation, we have other legal means with which to proceed," said Faqiryar. Karzai, sworn in last week for a second full-term after an election marred by fraud, has been under pressure from his Western backers to tackle ... Read Full Story