9/11 Anniversary Exposes War on Terror Faultlines

The seventh anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities exposed fresh cracks in America's War on Terror today after it emerged that President Bush secretly authorised US special forces to conduct ground operations inside Pakistan without Islamabad's approval.

The news, in a report from The New York Times, was corroborated by Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has confirmed that he had ordered a new strategy for Afghanistan focusing on both sides of its border with Pakistan, including those tribal areas that have become a virtual safe haven for al-Qaeda.

Videos Show Dead Afghan Children After US Raid

KABUL, Afghanistan - The bodies of at least 10 children and many more adults covered in blankets and white shrouds appear in videos obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, lending weight to Afghan and U.N. allegations that a U.S.-led raid last month killed more civilians than the U.S. reported.

Report: US-NATO Airstrikes Bring Higher Afghan Civilian Toll

WASHINGTON - Ramped-up U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan are causing an increased civilian death toll, raising concerns about the fallout from civilian deaths on the war effort against the Taliban insurgency, according to a major new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released here Monday.

Afghans Fed Up With Government, US

GHANI KHIEL, Afghanistan - The bearded, turbaned men gather beneath a large, leafy tree in rural eastern Nangarhar province. When Malik Mohammed speaks on their behalf, his voice is soft but his words are harsh. Mohammed makes it clear that the tribal chiefs have lost all faith in both their own government and the foreign soldiers in their country.

Such disillusionment is widespread in Afghanistan, feeding an insurgency that has killed 195 foreign soldiers so far this year, 105 of them Americans.

Reports of Civilian Deaths Inflame Tensions in Afghanistan

KABUL - Foreign and Afghan forces killed five children in two separate incidents Monday, further inflaming tensions in the country over the killings of civilians by troops from the U.S.-led coalition.

NATO said Monday it had accidentally killed three children in an artillery strike in eastern Afghanistan. It said NATO forces had fired the rounds after insurgents attacked its patrol in the Gayan district of Paktika Province and one of the rounds hit a house, killing three children and injuring seven civilians.