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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

Security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in the capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Afghan officials confirm at least three people killed in a blast happened near a high school and the Kabul municipality office while hundreds of people gather to protest against Taliban attacks in Jaghuri and Malistan districts of eastern Ghazni province. <br>Massoud Hossaini/AP
Security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in the capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Afghan officials confirm at least three people killed in a blast happened near a high school and the Kabul municipality office while hundreds of people gather to protest against Taliban attacks in Jaghuri and Malistan districts of eastern Ghazni province. <br>Massoud Hossaini/AP

Suicide bomber kills six at protest demanding better security against Taliban

The explosion took place near where hundreds had gathered to denounce the latest Taliban attacks in Ghazni districts of Jaghuri and Malistan.

Phone with apps<br>Dreamstime/TNS
Phone with apps<br>Dreamstime/TNS

American Legion post removes Instagram graphic asking women to thank vets by exposing their breasts

The graphic posted on an account run by members of a California American Legion post featured the words “THANK A VET SHOW THEM YOUR BOOBS!” over an American flag. It drew multiple complaints from veterans.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signs a decree in 2016 establishing an independent Anti-Corruption Justice Center in Kabul, responsible for tackling high-level corruption in Afghanistan.<br>Courtesy of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signs a decree in 2016 establishing an independent Anti-Corruption Justice Center in Kabul, responsible for tackling high-level corruption in Afghanistan.<br>Courtesy of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

Afghan anti-corruption program is corrupt, US officials say

An anti-corruption program once seen as a beacon of hope in Afghanistan is failing to accomplish much, according to U.S. officials who say the nation’s top prosecutor is corrupt.

Afghan members of an elite police special forces unit in Herat gather for a drill prior to a raid to nab a Taliban leader Oct. 28, 2018. <br>J.P. Lawrence / Stars and Stripes
Afghan members of an elite police special forces unit in Herat gather for a drill prior to a raid to nab a Taliban leader Oct. 28, 2018. <br>J.P. Lawrence / Stars and Stripes

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Elite Afghan police begin first missions while regular forces remain undermanned

Herat’s new National Mission Unit is a police force intended for combat missions and advised by NATO instructors. Afghanistan hopes to double the number of crack units such as this one in Herat, a city of about 400,000 and the country’s third-largest.

Maj. Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan.<br>Utah National Guard
Maj. Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan.<br>Utah National Guard

Utah guardsman, father of seven, killed in insider attack remembered as 'giant among men'

Maj. Brent Taylor, a member of the Utah National Guard training commandos in Afghanistan, was fatally shot Saturday by one of his Afghan trainees, officials said. He was the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, and leaves behind a wife and seven children

Maj. Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan.<br>Utah National Guard
Maj. Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan.<br>Utah National Guard

Utah guardsman, father of seven, killed in insider attack remembered as 'giant among men'

Maj. Brent Taylor, a member of the Utah National Guard training commandos in Afghanistan, was fatally shot Saturday by one of his Afghan trainees, officials said. He was the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, and leaves behind a wife and seven children

<br>Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes
<br>Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes

US servicemember killed in apparent insider attack in Kabul

A U.S. servicemember in Afghanistan was killed and another was wounded in an apparent insider attack in Kabul on Saturday, two weeks after a Taliban infiltrator shot and wounded an American general in Kandahar.

Police officials display 129 weapons they say they seized from militants fighting the government in Herat province in western Afghanistan on June 4, 2018. Infighting between Taliban factions had led to 40 deaths recently, Herat officials said Nov. 2, 2018. <br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes
Police officials display 129 weapons they say they seized from militants fighting the government in Herat province in western Afghanistan on June 4, 2018. Infighting between Taliban factions had led to 40 deaths recently, Herat officials said Nov. 2, 2018. <br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Taliban vs. Taliban clash in Afghanistan’s west leaves 40 dead

Infighting between factions killed 40 Taliban fighters in October in the western province of Herat and is part of the reason a militant group is seeking peace talks, government officials said Friday.

An example of U.S. propaganda in Afghanistan, calling into question the Taliban's interpretation of Islam. <br>Photo courtesy of Thomas Johnson
An example of U.S. propaganda in Afghanistan, calling into question the Taliban's interpretation of Islam. <br>Photo courtesy of Thomas Johnson

Book review

How the US lost the propaganda war in Afghanistan

The Americans knew the Taliban set off the blast that ripped through Kandahar, Afghanistan, during Ramadan in 2009. The explosion killed 41 and wounded more than 60.

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NATO soldier killed in apparent insider attack in Afghanistan

A servicemember from NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan was killed Monday in an apparent insider attack, the second deadly shooting of friendly forces in recent days believed to be carried out by an Afghan servicemember.

An Afghan woman shows her inked finger after casting her vote at a polling station during the Parliamentary elections in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. <br>Rahmat Gul/Associated Press
An Afghan woman shows her inked finger after casting her vote at a polling station during the Parliamentary elections in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. <br>Rahmat Gul/Associated Press

Taliban threats chill rural vote in Afghanistan

Scenes of crowds of voters in Kabul clashed with empty polling places in more rural areas, according to election observers and analysts.