Related Content: Afghanistan

February 24, 2012: Rick Santorum; Super Tuesday; Republican Primary; Unrest in Afghanistan post Quran burnings

Weekly Show

Rick Santorum is the main target in the GOP race as 13 states prepare to vote between now and Super Tuesday. Plus, international leaders meet in Tunisia to prevent more bloodshed in Syria. And unrest continues in Afghanistan after the burning of Qurans. Joining Gwen: Michael Duffy, TIME Magazine; Jeanne Cummings, Bloomberg News; Nancy Youssef, McClatchy; Yochi Dreazen, National Journal.

Koran Burning in Afghanistan Fuels Bloody New Attacks on U.S. Forces

On The Radar

The deaths of a pair of American soldiers in Afghanistan Thursday highlights the bloody intersection of two dangerous aspects of the long war there: the growing Afghan fury over the burning of Korans and the continued killings of Western troops by their Afghan counterparts. An Afghan soldier shot and killed the U.S. soldiers at an outpost in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province and then, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, fled into the large crowd of demonstrators outside the base.

Afghanistan Protests: U.S. Embassy on Lock Down

On The Radar

An accidental burning of Qurans led to Anti-U.S. protests.

U.S. Forces Burn Old Copies of the Koran

On The Radar

Officials claim it was a misunderstanding when the holy books were discarded.

Panetta Surprises Afghans, NATO With Earlier Date for End of Combat Mission

On The Radar

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s comment while en route to a NATO conference in Brussels -- that the U.S. would end its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2013, a year earlier than thought -- surprised key U.S. allies, alarmed many Afghans, and forced the White House to spend more than a day trying to walk it back.
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White House Scrambles to Ease Fallout from Panetta's Afghanistan Comments

On The Radar

The Obama administration scrambled Thursday to tamp down the fallout out from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's surprise announcement that the United States would end its combat role in Afghanistan a year earlier than expected — a revelation that heightened confusion over U.S. strategy and stoked Afghan distrust of American intentions.
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Romney Criticizes Afghan Pullout Plan, but Obama Is Eager for the Debate

On The Radar

It did not take long for Mitt Romney to pounce on Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s statement Wednesday that American troops could end their combat role in Afghanistan by mid-2013, 18 months sooner than expected. Within hours, Mr. Romney lambasted it as “naïve” and “misguided.”
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Unit Leader Among Marines Who Urinated on Corpses

On The Radar

One of the Marines shown urinating on three corpses in Afghanistan in a widely distributed Internet video was the unit's leader, two U.S. military officials have told McClatchy, raising concerns that poor command standards contributed to an incident that may have damaged the U.S. war effort.
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Panetta: U.S. to Wind Down Combat Mission in Afghanistan Next Year

On The Radar

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the U.S.-led NATO coalition would end its combat role in Afghanistan next year, the clearest indication yet that the Obama administration is accelerating its plans to wind down the long and unpopular Afghan war. “Hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013, we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise, and assist role,” The Washington Post said Panetta told reporters accompanying him to Brussels.

Defense Budget Plan Doesn't Cut as Deeply as Pentagon Says

On The Radar

Pentagon officials unveiled the outlines Thursday of what they called a pared-down defense budget, but their request increases baseline spending beyond the projected end of the Afghan war, even as they plan to reduce ground forces.
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