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J.P. Lawrence

J.P. Lawrence is a downrange reporter covering Afghanistan and Iraq.

Lawrence joined Stripes in 2018. He previously reported for the San Antonio Express and Albany Times Union. He has written in the U.S. and Africa for the New York Review of Books, Vice, the Intercept and the Associated Press. He served in the U.S. Army and went to Bard College and Columbia University in New York.

Email: lawrence.jp@stripes.com

From left, Dr. Gerald Brandacher, Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, Dr. Richard Redett, Assistant Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Carisa Cooney and Dr. Damon Cooney following the world's first transplant of a penis and scrotum on a wounded soldier. <br>Johns Hopkins Medicine
From left, Dr. Gerald Brandacher, Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, Dr. Richard Redett, Assistant Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Carisa Cooney and Dr. Damon Cooney following the world's first transplant of a penis and scrotum on a wounded soldier. <br>Johns Hopkins Medicine

Having penis transplant was ‘one of the best decisions I ever made,’ Navy veteran says

A veteran lost both legs, his penis, scrotum and a chunk of his abdominal wall when he stepped on a roadside bomb as he ran to help a soldier during a Taliban ambush in 2010. Now he hopes that sharing his experience can help other veterans.

Jawid Kaderi, an Afghan-American contractor who works at Bagram Airbase, drinks tea with a fellow contractor and an airman, Sept. 19, 2019, at BAF Cafe. The cafe,the base?s newest eatery, aims to offer troops and others an authentic Afghan tea shop experience.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Jawid Kaderi, an Afghan-American contractor who works at Bagram Airbase, drinks tea with a fellow contractor and an airman, Sept. 19, 2019, at BAF Cafe. The cafe,the base?s newest eatery, aims to offer troops and others an authentic Afghan tea shop experience.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Reporter’s Notebook

Cafe aiming to offer Afghan experience to Bagram troops is 'a work in progress'

Servicemembers and others from the U.S. and elsewhere can spend months, if not years, in the Middle East without ever discovering life outside military bases. Owner Riza Rahmdel wants the BAF Cafe at Bagram Airfield to “create cultural awareness” of Afghan life.

An Afghan police checkpoint near the neck of a narrow and winding valley overlooks a paved road to Faizabad, the provincial capital of remote Badakhshan province, Afghanistan. A year after it signed a contract, American company Centar Ltd. has still not begun gold or copper mining operations in Afghanistan's Balkhab and Badakhshan provinces amid security concerns.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
An Afghan police checkpoint near the neck of a narrow and winding valley overlooks a paved road to Faizabad, the provincial capital of remote Badakhshan province, Afghanistan. A year after it signed a contract, American company Centar Ltd. has still not begun gold or copper mining operations in Afghanistan's Balkhab and Badakhshan provinces amid security concerns.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Insecurity, fraud allegations mar US company’s quest to mine for gold in Afghanistan

A year after a U.S.-based company signed contracts to mine for gold and copper in Afghanistan, work still hasn’t begun amid fears of insecurity and with allegations of corruption still dogging the company.

Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Morovis, Puerto Rico, rubs noses with his son, Jacknel Barreto-Aponte, now 4. Barreto died Sept. 5, 2019, when a Taliban suicide bomb tore through his convoy in the Afghan capital.<br>Legna Aponte
Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Morovis, Puerto Rico, rubs noses with his son, Jacknel Barreto-Aponte, now 4. Barreto died Sept. 5, 2019, when a Taliban suicide bomb tore through his convoy in the Afghan capital.<br>Legna Aponte

Soldier killed in attack that ended US-Taliban peace talks laid to rest at Arlington

Preparing for her husband’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz’s widow said she had only begun to grieve since his death earlier this month on his second deployment to Afghanistan.

Cars in Kabul drive past campaign billboards in Kabul for the two frontrunners in Afghanistan's presidential election, which is to be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.<br>Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes
Cars in Kabul drive past campaign billboards in Kabul for the two frontrunners in Afghanistan's presidential election, which is to be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.<br>Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes

Amid threats of violence, Afghans prepare to vote in presidential election

Afghans are preparing to vote this weekend in their country’s fourth presidential election since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001, amid threats of violence from insurgent groups.

Cars in Kabul drive past campaign billboards in Kabul for the two frontrunners in Afghanistan's presidential election, which is to be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.<br>Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes
Cars in Kabul drive past campaign billboards in Kabul for the two frontrunners in Afghanistan's presidential election, which is to be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.<br>Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes

Amid threats of violence, Afghans prepare to vote in presidential election

Afghans are preparing to vote this weekend in their country’s fourth presidential election since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001, amid threats of violence from insurgent groups.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in ''Joker,'' a Warner Bros. Picture release.<br>Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in ''Joker,'' a Warner Bros. Picture release.<br>Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.

Shooting threat at ‘Joker’ movie premiere spurs warning from Army Criminal Investigation Command

An Army Criminal Investigation Command memo issued Monday put commanders at Fort Sill, Okla., on notice regarding “disturbing and very specific chatter in the dark web” about a possible mass shooting during the Oct. 4 release of the new “Joker” movie.

Azam Doost, a California businessman who defrauded the U.S. government of nearly $16 million intended to develop a marble mine in Afghanistan, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison, the Department of Justice said last week.<br>
Azam Doost, a California businessman who defrauded the U.S. government of nearly $16 million intended to develop a marble mine in Afghanistan, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison, the Department of Justice said last week.<br>

Businessman who bilked US of millions meant for Afghanistan mine sentenced to 4½ years

Azam Doost, 41, of Union City, Calif., was found guilty in September last year of defrauding the U.S. government, making false statements on a loan application, wire fraud, and money laundering, the Justice Department said.

Army Capt. Shaye Haver of Copperas Cove, Texas, won first place among women at the Army Ten-Miler event at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, with a time of 1 hour, 17 minutes. <br>Courtesy of Area Support Group - Afghanistan
Army Capt. Shaye Haver of Copperas Cove, Texas, won first place among women at the Army Ten-Miler event at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, with a time of 1 hour, 17 minutes. <br>Courtesy of Area Support Group - Afghanistan

Female Ranger, Fort Riley soldier win Army Ten-Miler at Bagram

One of the first female graduates of the Army Ranger School won the women’s race at Bagram’s Army Ten-Miler shadow run, while a Fort Riley-based soldier took the top podium spot in the men’s race.

Farmers ride donkeys along a paved road in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province on July 14, 2019, bringing goods into Baharak, a district center under Taliban threat.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Farmers ride donkeys along a paved road in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province on July 14, 2019, bringing goods into Baharak, a district center under Taliban threat.<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

New generation of Taliban fuels battles in northern Afghanistan

After years of resisting Taliban control, Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Badakhshan has become yet another battleground in the fight for control of the country, thanks in large part to a long-term shift in the Taliban’s recruitment strategy, observers say.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. Ghani said his government is prepared to pick up peace talks with the Taliban after the U.S. abruptly pulled out, but only if the insurgents agree to a cease-fire, media reports said on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. <br>Stars and Stripes
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. Ghani said his government is prepared to pick up peace talks with the Taliban after the U.S. abruptly pulled out, but only if the insurgents agree to a cease-fire, media reports said on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. <br>Stars and Stripes

Afghan government is open to talks with the Taliban, but only with a cease-fire

The Afghan government is ready to pick up peace negotiations with the Taliban after they were abruptly called off by President Donald Trump but the insurgents must first agree to a cease-fire, Afghanistan’s president said Monday.