WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

When the Taliban controlled Afghanistan a decade ago, they were fanatical about eliminating everything they considered un-Islamic.Their biggest targets — literally and figuratively — were the two monumental Buddha statues carved out of the sandstone cliffs in central Afghanistan.

Gen. David Petraeus stepped down as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Monday and handed control of the war over to Marine Corps Gen. John Allen.

The assassination of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's influential brother leaves a power vacuum in the country's south just as stability seemed to be returning in the region that once served as the Taliban capital, Afghanistan observers say.Ahmed Wali Karzai — a onetime Chicago restaurateur who retur

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's powerful half brother, who critics claimed had ties to the drug world as well as U.S.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is in Afghanistan Saturday, his first visit to that country since assuming the position.

The U.S. State Department has funded international student exchanges for decades, looking to form life-long bonds and increase understanding across borders.One program brought hundreds of Afghan high school students to small communities in the U.S. beginning in 2004.But this year, the U.S.