Forty-eight killed, many hurt in suicide attack outside Iraq recruitment center. Also today, President Karzai will issue order to close all private security firms with in four months.

Afghan president to issue order on private security firms

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to issue an order Tuesday demanding that all private security companies in Afghanistan cease operation within four months.

48 killed, many hurt in suicide attack outside Iraq recruitment center

At least 48 people were killed and scores were wounded Tuesday morning when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest in central Baghdad as men were queuing up outside an Iraqi army recruitment center, the interior ministry said.

Wounds of Iraq war: US struggles with surge of returning veterans

In the spring of 2005, Marine Lt. Col. Mike Zacchea returned from the Iraq war to his Long Island, N.Y., home both a hero and a shattered man.

Rising pay, benefits drive growth in military towns

Rapidly rising pay and benefits in the armed forces have lifted many military towns into the ranks of the nation’s most affluent communities, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Who gets discharged under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’?

The military threw out hundreds of service members in 2009 for violating its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, including disproportionate numbers of women and minorities and dozens of service members in “mission critical” positions, according to a new analysis of military data.

Judge Overturns Protest Ban Aimed at Westboro

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A federal judge Monday ruled that Missouri laws restricting protests near funerals are unconstitutional.

US Backs Afghan Plan to Dump Contractors

KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. military supports the Afghan government’s plan to dissolve private security companies and is tightening oversight of its own armed contractors in the interim, an official said Monday.

7 Special Forces soldiers to get Silver Star for Afghan valor

It’s been clear for months that the fighting in Afghanistan is more intense than it’s been since the war there started nearly nine years ago. Yet, from the midst of those increasingly violent firefights come some amazing stories of heroism.

Petraeus: No Success Without Taliban Talks

At a time when the bloodletting in Afghanistan is on the rise, the American commander there says success will mean sitting down and talking to Taliban fighters and others who have “American blood on their hands.”

Advocates See Woes for Misdiagnosed GIs

WASHINGTON — At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely dismissed hundreds of Soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

SKorea: North must change, embrace reunification

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president urged North Korea to abandon military provocations and make a “courageous change” toward peace, using a speech Sunday marking the Korean peninsula’s liberation from Japanese rule to outline a path for its eventual reunification.