SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - One of the most important trade routes in Asia was closed last week while a boyish-looking man everyone calls "the general" showed around the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal clambered to the top of a roof, where "the general" -- officially a colonel in the Afghan Border Police -- pointed out ...

A major reorganization of allied forces in Afghanistan will centralize both American and other foreign troops under the direct command of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the senior U.S. and NATO commander in the theater. The move, which will further boost McChrystal's authority, came as his boss, Gen ...

KABUL (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to Afghanistan on Monday, cautioned against over-optimism, warning of "dark days" ahead despite grounds for hope on the battlefield. Gates, on his first Afghan trip since President Barack Obama's surge of 30,000 troops began arriving in the country last December, said NATO forces had made gains recently, including a ...