Beth MurphyJune 12, 2013 06:09

Meeting Mansoor: Afghan translators struggle to come to the US

Of the 7,500 visas set aside for Afghans working with US forces, only 12 percent have been used in the last five years.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The first thing you notice when you look at photos of Mansoor, an Afghan translator for the US Marine Corps in the southern provinces of Afghanistan, is that he looks very young. His small, lean frame, his open demeanor, and his boyish features make him look more like a kid brother on a field trip with military officers than like a young man who risks his life every day to help them.

It has been five years since Mansoor first started working for the US military, and now, like nearly everyone in Afghanistan, he is closely monitoring the withdrawal of US troops from his country and worrying about his fate and that of his family.

Afghanistan's Zhari district struggles to keep the peace (PHOTOS)

Ben BrodyMay 25, 2013 08:52

Almost every summer for the past decade, Zhari's thick-walled earth huts, used to dry the famous local sweet grapes into raisins, have become fortresses for Taliban fighters.

In remote Afghan district, the roots of insurgency are local

Chris SandsMay 6, 2013 06:00

FAIZABAD, Afghanistan — More than a year after the Taliban issued a set of demands for leaders of the Warduj district in northeastern Afghanistan, this once-peaceful area is now wracked by violence.

6 Americans killed in Afghan attacks, including diplomat

Allison JacksonApril 6, 2013 14:05

An Afghan doctor was also killed in the attack, which left a child and two others injured.

Ben BrodyApril 1, 2013 12:22

Reflections from Afghanistan: What ending the war looks like

Correspondent Ben Brody has photographed the American military at war both as a soldier and a civilian. He reflects on his recent return to Afghanistan, and what has changed since the war has ended.

Enlarge

A French soldier shoulders his rucksack for his flight home from Kabul. (Ben Brody/GlobalPost)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — When I arrived in Afghanistan in July of 2010, as the troop surge was ramping up, the first flightline I saw was packed with newly arrived soldiers. The mood was alternately hopeful and grim, depending on where you looked.

I spoke with a group of privates fresh out of basic training and eager to prove themselves, as well as some seasoned leaders on their fifth and sixth combat tours. In ten years of service, one sergeant first class said he had seen six years of combat duty. He said he thought that ratio would continue until he retired.

Afghan suicide bombers strike during US official Chuck Hagel's visit

Ellen ConnollyMarch 9, 2013 10:04

Deadly bomb strikes in Afghanistan during US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's visit.

Afghanistan government 'could collapse' after 2014, report says

Jennifer MattsonOctober 8, 2012 14:33

The Afghan police and army are not ready to take over after NATO forces depart, according to the International Crisis Group.

Suicide bomb kills 20 in Afghanistan

Ellen ConnollyOctober 1, 2012 08:45

Another suicide bombing in Afghanistan claims 17 Afghans and three NATO troops.

Two NATO troops killed in Afghanistan

Ellen ConnollySeptember 26, 2012 09:27

Troops killed in another suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan.

Meet the most important man in Afghanistan

Chris SandsSeptember 18, 2012 06:24

KABUL — With the departure of foreign combat troops here well underway, one man continues to haunt US strategy decades after he first crossed paths with Washington. In his hands lies not only the fate of NATO soldiers in some central, northern and eastern provinces, but possibly the best chance for a peace deal with a major rebel group.