Some of the most lethal weapons ever used have been unleashed on both sides in appalling quantities: cluster rockets, self-detonating mines, battle tanks, howitzers, thermobarics and incendiary munition.
Author: THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF
The Corpse of a Russian Soldier, and the Cold but Human Urge to Look
Why does war’s wreckage — the downed helicopters, the destroyed tanks and the dead — draw crowds? A former Marine ponders the question as he stands before the badly burned body of a Russian fighter.
11 Years After Trying to Kill Each Other, a Marine and a Talib Meet Again
A Times reporter who once served in the Marines returned to the site of a major battle in Afghanistan to see what’s changed since the Taliban took over — and to meet a commander he once fought.
When the Taliban Are in Your Bedroom
As armed Taliban inspected the New York Times bureau in Kabul, they were escorted by a journalist who used to be a U.S. Marine. The photo of him in uniform was plain for all to see, and ponder.
In Afghanistan, an Unceremonious End, and a Shrouded Beginning
The last American flight from Afghanistan left behind a host of unfulfilled promises and anxious questions about the country’s fate.
Top U.S. General Steps Down in Afghanistan
Gen. Austin S. Miller is leaving as the United States prepares to end its two-decade war in Afghanistan, and as Taliban fighters sweep across much of the country.
The Relics of America’s War in Afghanistan
Just a mile from Bagram Air Base, where U.S. forces departed on Thursday, shops sell items left over from two decades of fighting. Each one tells a story.
U.S. Leaves Its Last Afghan Base, Effectively Ending Operations
With little fanfare, Bagram Air Base — once the military’s nerve center — was handed over to the Afghans, after nearly 20 years of waging war from the hub.