Civilian Casualties Afghanistan

Amid rising anger over civilian deaths in Afghanistan, President Bush says he is sending more forces to fight there, but cautions "there will be times" when U.S. strikes result in the loss of innocent life. In remarks prepared for delivery today to an audience of military officers, Bush is accepting recommendations from senior officers for a modest troop reduction in Iraq as part of a plan that would shift some units to Afghanistan. The new configuration reflects what Bush is calling a "degree of durability" in progress in Iraq.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on a Middle East peace mission, made an overnight visit to Syria that highlighted deep differences in the international campaign against terrorism, then headed to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Syrian President Bashar Assad gave no indication that he was prepared to restrain violent Palestinian groups that operate from his territory. Syria, which is on the U.S.

Britain's political leaders threw their support behind the Anglo-U.S. military strikes against Afghanistan on Sunday after Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that the coalition will act with "reason and resolve" in response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

In a determined show of solidarity, the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan declared Tuesday that they stood together in the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, but they discreetly acknowledged that their common alliance with the United States was fraught with political peril for each of them. The unusual joint appearance came just hours after Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was sworn in as president of Pakistan. Many of his compatriots view Zardari as an untested leader who will have to work hard to overcome a corruption-clouded past and a wheeler-dealer image.

President Obama begins two days of talks at the White House today with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to overhaul a painstakingly developed security strategy that was unveiled only five weeks ago but already has become badly outdated. The three countries spent months developing their plan to combat an Islamic insurgency centered in eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. But growing militant activity in Pakistan is forcing them to hastily switch focus.

For years, opponents of the Iraq war claimed it was an unwinnable waste of resources that wasn't worth fighting anyway. The real war against terrorists, they argued, should be waged in Afghanistan. But now that Iraq has made heartening progress and we are finally sending more troops to Afghanistan, the critics are applying to Afghanistan the same arguments they once used in favor of partial or total withdrawal from Iraq. Afghanistan, we are told, is a hopeless quagmire.

It's the time of day Samir Mahdi and his friends get together, sipping sugared hot tea from tiny glasses, puffing on water pipes burning sweet, flavored tobacco and contemplating the state of the world. On a recent afternoon, the talk among the waiter, taxi driver, laborer and cook turned to the U.S. bombing in Afghanistan. The four men, proudly Muslim and mainstream moderate, still view the United States as a victim.

President George W. Bush's rousing speech to Congress won high praise abroad for articulating the sentiments of his aggrieved nation and for issuing an ultimatum to Afghanistan to surrender those believed responsible for the terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Like British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who sat next to First Lady Laura Bush during the speech, many governments renewed vows of support Friday for the U.S. drive for justice. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir V.