A US Green Beret was found not guilty at court-martial Feb. 25 of murder and mutilating a dead body in connection with the March 2008 killing of an Afghan man near Hyderabad, Afghanistan. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Joseph Newell of the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) was charged last September in connection with the death, which occurred after a driver whom Newell had stopped for questioning lunged, prompting Newell to shoot him twice. The military jury deliberated for about four hours before returning its verdict. (Jurist, Feb. 26)

A US Army Special Forces soldier facing court-martial proceedings over the killing of an Afghan civilian in March 2008 has admitted to killing the man but argued during opening statements Feb. 19 that the act was committed in self defense. Master Sgt. Robert Newell of the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) was arraigned and charged with killing the unidentified Afghan and mutilating the corpse by cutting off an ear. Military prosecutors allege that the killing was premeditated, and that the civilian posed no threat to Newell.

A suicide bomber killed at least 28 and injured dozens Feb. 20 in Dera Ismail Khan, a town in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province—the latest in an escalating series of attacks aimed at the country's Shi'ite minority. The attack targeted the funeral procession for Sher Zeman, a Shi'ite leader who was gunned down in the city the day before. The blast sparked hours of rioting in which furious crowds torched shops, homes and cars. The army was called in and the town placed under curfew. (Daily Times, Pakistan, Feb. 21)

Gen. David D. McKiernan, top US commander in Afghanistan, said Feb. 18 that the heightened troop levels that President Barack Obama ordered for the country could remain in place for up to five years. Speaking at a Pentagon press conference a day after Obama ordered 17,000 additional troops to the country, said that the build-up "is not a temporary force uplift." He said the build-up would "need to be sustained for some period of time," and that he was looking at "the next three to four or five years." (NYT, Feb. 19)

Saying the war against the Taliban is "still winnable," President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency, the White House announced Feb. 17. This will bring US troop levels in Afghanistan to around 55,000. US troops in Afghanistan have already risen from around 30,000 at the beginning of this year to 38,000 now under orders signed by the Bush administration. The new forces will include a Marine expeditionary brigade of some 8,000 troops and an Army brigade of 4,000 soldiers equipped with Stryker armored vehicles, the Pentagon said.

Another US drone struck Pakistan's Tribal Areas Feb. 16, again killing some 30. Like the drone strike that killed similar numbers in South Waziristan Feb. 14, the raid targeted militants loyal to Baitullah Mehsud. But this time the missiles struck the Kurram tribal region—which had not been targeted before, signaling a broadening of the drone-strike campaign. The US has now targeted Pakistan four times since President Barack Obama took office last month.

As Russia marks the 20th anniversary of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the BBC Feb. 14 spoke with veterans of the Soviet military campaign there, who had grim words of warning for Washington. "Doubling their forces won't lead to a solution on the ground," said Col Oleg Kulakov, who served twice in Afghanistan and is now a lecturer and historian in Moscow. "The conflict cannot be solved by military means, it's an illusion. No-one can reach any political goal in Afghanistan relying on military force. Frankly speaking, they are doomed to repeat our mistakes."

Two missiles fired from a US drone killed more than 30, reportedly including al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, in Pakistan's Tribal Areas Feb. 14. The missiles struck three compounds, including one used by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and his fighters. Arab and Uzbek militants were apparently among those killed. The compounds were in the village of Shwangai, near the town of Makeen, South Waziristan. (NYT, Feb. 14)