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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

An Afghan soldier checks his cellphone on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, atop the walls of his base, just east of Kabul, during the first day of an agreed reduction of violence between the Taliban and the U.S. forces. Government forces are also to stand down, said Gawhar Khan Baburi, the district governor of Surobi. <br>J.P. Lawrence / Stars and Stripes
An Afghan soldier checks his cellphone on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, atop the walls of his base, just east of Kabul, during the first day of an agreed reduction of violence between the Taliban and the U.S. forces. Government forces are also to stand down, said Gawhar Khan Baburi, the district governor of Surobi. <br>J.P. Lawrence / Stars and Stripes

‘God willing, peace will come’: Reduction in Afghan violence brings hope; some fighting goes on

There was a “significant” drop in violence in Afghanistan on Saturday, the first day of a weeklong period of reduced violence, the Afghan Defense Ministry said. Several attacks were reported throughout the day but didn’t appear to break the truce.

A U.S. Army Reserve CH-47 Chinook helicopter flies over Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in June 2017. The Pentagon plans to send 20 Chinook helicopters to Afghan special forces, according to a Pentagon brief.<br>Brian Harris/U.S. Army
A U.S. Army Reserve CH-47 Chinook helicopter flies over Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in June 2017. The Pentagon plans to send 20 Chinook helicopters to Afghan special forces, according to a Pentagon brief.<br>Brian Harris/U.S. Army

Pentagon sheds light on plans to provide Chinook helicopters to Afghan special forces

The Defense Department plans to provide 20 Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Afghanistan’s security forces in a bid to save on support costs and air crew requirements, Pentagon officials said.

President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan stands in front of his nation's flag during a news conference at the White House in 2015. <br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes
President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan stands in front of his nation's flag during a news conference at the White House in 2015. <br>Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani is declared election winner after nearly five months

Ashraf Ghani has been declared the winner of Afghanistan’s disputed presidential election on Tuesday, nearly five months after the ballots were cast.

Farmers in rural Badakhshan province in Afghanistan take a break from their work July 14, 2019. The province has been the beneficiary of agricultural development projects by the United States Agency for International Development.<br>
Farmers in rural Badakhshan province in Afghanistan take a break from their work July 14, 2019. The province has been the beneficiary of agricultural development projects by the United States Agency for International Development.<br>

US, world donors provide aid as millions of Afghans struggle to buy food

Food bought by the U.S. and other United Nations donors was distributed to thousands of people on the outskirts of Kabul, ahead of a Friday report by a U.S. watchdog agency that a third of Afghanistan’s population might go hungry this year.

An Afghan Air Force UH-60 Black Hawk flies during a NATO-led mission in Afghanistan in 2018. The U.S. is providing less money and fewer Black Hawks and advisers to the Afghan air force.<br>Clayton Cupit/U.S. Air Force
An Afghan Air Force UH-60 Black Hawk flies during a NATO-led mission in Afghanistan in 2018. The U.S. is providing less money and fewer Black Hawks and advisers to the Afghan air force.<br>Clayton Cupit/U.S. Air Force

Senator criticizes Pentagon plans to cut Black Hawks for Afghan air force

A senator on the Armed Services Committee has asked the Pentagon to explain why it has proposed yet another helicopter model for the Afghan air force instead of the Black Hawks it has been sending for years.

An Afghan Air Force UH-60 Black Hawk flies during a NATO-led mission in Afghanistan in 2018. The U.S. is providing less money and fewer Black Hawks and advisers to the Afghan air force.<br>Clayton Cupit/U.S. Air Force
An Afghan Air Force UH-60 Black Hawk flies during a NATO-led mission in Afghanistan in 2018. The U.S. is providing less money and fewer Black Hawks and advisers to the Afghan air force.<br>Clayton Cupit/U.S. Air Force

Senator criticizes Pentagon plans to cut Black Hawks for Afghan air force

A senator on the Armed Services Committee has asked the Pentagon to explain why it has proposed yet another helicopter model for the Afghan air force instead of the Black Hawks it has been sending for years.

The U.S. Army recently funded research on how to prevent hackers from attacking its facial recognition systems. The project, conducted by researchers at Duke University, was able to scan 12,840 photos, some of which are shown here, and find a trigger that could prevent people from being accurately identified.<br>U.S. Army
The U.S. Army recently funded research on how to prevent hackers from attacking its facial recognition systems. The project, conducted by researchers at Duke University, was able to scan 12,840 photos, some of which are shown here, and find a trigger that could prevent people from being accurately identified.<br>U.S. Army

Army developing binoculars that can identify far-off faces in the dark

Advanced facial recognition technology could immediately match people viewed from as far as 500 yards away to identity databases, a U.S. Army Research Laboratory electronics engineer says.

A preview panel from the graphic novel adaption of ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' by Kurt Vonnegut, which is scheduled to be released in September of 2020.<br>Boom! Studios
A preview panel from the graphic novel adaption of ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' by Kurt Vonnegut, which is scheduled to be released in September of 2020.<br>Boom! Studios

War book ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ to become graphic novel

The classic book “Slaughterhouse-Five” and its tales of war, loss, aliens and time travel will be transformed into a graphic novel available this fall.

George Kittle, left, a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, meets Jan. 24, 2020, with the family of Mick LaMar, a soldier who was killed in Iraq in 2011. Kittle met with, from left, Alexis, Nicolas and their mother, Josie LaMar, as well as a family friend, as part of a program that gave service members and families a trip to the big game.<br>Josie LaMar
George Kittle, left, a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, meets Jan. 24, 2020, with the family of Mick LaMar, a soldier who was killed in Iraq in 2011. Kittle met with, from left, Alexis, Nicolas and their mother, Josie LaMar, as well as a family friend, as part of a program that gave service members and families a trip to the big game.<br>Josie LaMar

49ers’ Kittle will play in Super Bowl in honor of fallen soldier

George Kittle, star tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, met with the family of Mick LaMar on Friday ahead of the clash with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

This photo provided by an Afghan journalist affiliated with the Taliban is said to show an aircraft that crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. The U.S. military said it is investigating reports of an airplane crash in Taliban-controlled territory in Afghanistan. U.S. Army Maj. Beth Riordan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, said that it remained unclear whose aircraft was involved in the crash.<br>Tariq Ghazniwal via AP
This photo provided by an Afghan journalist affiliated with the Taliban is said to show an aircraft that crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. The U.S. military said it is investigating reports of an airplane crash in Taliban-controlled territory in Afghanistan. U.S. Army Maj. Beth Riordan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, said that it remained unclear whose aircraft was involved in the crash.<br>Tariq Ghazniwal via AP

US communications plane crashes in Afghanistan

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said on Twitter that while the incident was under investigation, “there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire.”

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

Few US voters hopeful about Afghan peace talks, poll shows

Just under a third of U.S. voters believe peace negotiations with the Taliban will bring the war in Afghanistan to a satisfactory end, a poll released Thursday said.