Past Articles by Quil Lawrence
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A Wounded Soldier Stands Tall At Reunion With His Platoon U.S. Army Spc. Tyler Jeffries lost both legs in a roadside bombing last October in Afghanistan, and he has been learning to walk on prosthetic legs. But Jeffries was determined to meet his buddies when they returned from duty in January. |
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Shooting Of 'American Sniper' Raises Questions About PTSD Treatment The man who allegedly killed former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a Texas firing range was also an Iraq War veteran, and the crime has raised questions about the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder — including whether a firing range is a safe place for a disturbed veteran. |
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Suicide Hotline Fights To Keep Vets And Troops Alive For the first time in a decade of war, more active-duty troops took their own lives this year than died fighting in Afghanistan. The national suicide hotline is one way the Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to help troops and vets. |
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Suicide Hotline Fights To Keep Vets And Troops Alive For the first time in a decade of war, more active-duty troops took their own lives this year than died fighting in Afghanistan. The national suicide hotline is one way the Department of Veterans Affairs is trying to help troops and vets. |
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For Veterans, The Wait For Disability Claims Grows Longer   The Department of Veterans Affairs wanted to reduce a backlog in veterans' claims for disability benefits. Instead, the problem has worsened this year, in part, the VA says, because the department made it easier for more vets to file claims. |
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Veterans Deploy To Northeast After Superstorm Sandy The military veterans who have been cleaning up and rebuilding in New York and New Jersey say that volunteering helps them as much as it supports the local residents. They say getting back into a chaotic environment with a clear and worthwhile mission helps with the transition to civilian life. |
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Vet Walks On New Legs, With A Little Help From Mom On a foot patrol in Kandahar, Nick Staback lost both of his legs after he stepped on a homemade bomb. Over the next year, his mother, Maria, became a tough coach as he learned to walk on two prosthetic legs, and together they adjusted to what she calls the "new normal" for their family. |
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Veterans Want Solutions To Unemployment Issue As part of NPR's series, "Solve This," Morning Edition examines how President Obama and GOP rival Mitt Romney would address challenges facing America's veterans. NPR's Quil Lawrence visited members of a VFW post in Florida. |
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Veterans Ask Candidates To Solve Their Issues Morning Edition examines how President Obama and GOP rival Mitt Romney would address challenges facing America's veterans. When it comes to the economy, unemployment for post-Sept. 11 veterans this month about 2 percentage points worse than the national average. |
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Vets Seek Specifics On How Candidates Would Help Military veterans across the country have a whole range of concerns this election season, from the high rate of suicide to special challenges for female vets. But like everyone else, they're especially concerned with health care and jobs. |
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Military Vote Seen As A Key To Capturing Virginia Both presidential campaigns are focusing on just a few swing states, and the relatively few undecided voters remaining. One of those states is Virginia, where a key swing constituency is military veterans. |
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A Year After War Wound, Vet Wins Paralympic Gold Navy Lt. Brad Snyder lost his sight to an explosion in Afghanistan exactly one year ago. On the anniversary Friday, he won the 400-meter freestyle at the Paralympics in London, capturing his second gold medal. |
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Doing It To Win: Veterans Raise Bar At Paralympics Among the athletes at the ongoing 2012 games in London are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Organizers of the games say the vets raise the caliber of the competition. And injured veterans say Paralympic sports provide inspiration and the prospect of a normal, active life. |
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A New Generation Of Vets Faces Challenges At Home The Veterans Administration recently announced a $100 million program to fight homelessness among America's war veterans. The issue isn't new. For a generation, shelters have seen many Vietnam vets. Now, younger vets are landing on the street after seeing combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. |
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Obama, Romney Court Veterans In Key States In a close presidential race, every constituency counts. With both President Obama and Mitt Romney addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention this week, it's clear that veterans have become a prized voter group. That's especially true in battleground states like Florida, Virginia and Ohio, where vets make up a large enough segment of the population to swing the election. |
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Afghans Who Helped U.S. Forces Still Hope For Visas Afghans hired to help U.S. forces in Afghanistan say Congress should keep its promise to grant them visas to America. Despite death threats from the Taliban, thousands of Afghans have worked with Americans since the war in Afghanistan began. Most say they wanted to serve their country, but they also hoped to win visas to America. But since 2009, the number of U.S. visas awarded has slowed to a trickle. |
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Afghan Public Protection Force Replaces Contractors Nearly two years ago, President Hamid Karzai called for armed private security contractors in his country to be replaced by a state-run force. The Afghan Public Protection Force took over last month, and its off to a rocky start. |
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Afghan Goal: Toning Down The Radical Preachers Muslim clerics in Afghanistan often denounce the U.S. military presence and speak favorably of the Taliban. The Afghan government is now calling on the clerics to be more moderate, or face penalties. |
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For Afghan Soldiers, A Battle For Respect Afghan soldiers are taking a more prominent role in the country's security operations, slowly winning the respect of ordinary Afghan citizens. But, the soldiers say, they aren't receiving the same respect or thanks from the government: benefits go missing and proper medical treatment is often scarce. |
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Taliban Claims Responsibility For Afghan Attacks The Taliban has claimed responsibility for Sunday's multiple attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul. U.S. officials are praising Afghan forces, but questions remain about how the insurgents were able to infiltrate the most secure parts of the capital. |
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Dreams Of A Mining Future On Hold In Afghanistan Pie-in-the-sky reports about vast mineral deposits of copper, iron, uranium and lithium are believed by many in Afghanistan to be the key to the country's future. But a Chinese copper mine east of Kabul is the only one optioned by an international company so far, and it's on hold. |
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Afghan Farmer Lost 11 Relatives In Shooting Rampage Many details have emerged about the American soldier suspected of gunning down 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar. But little has been reported about those who were killed or the five still recovering. One Afghan farmer lost 11 family members in the attack. |
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Grieving Afghan Father: 'All My Dreams Are Buried' Many details have emerged about the American soldier suspected of gunning down 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar province. But little has been reported about those who were killed or the five still recovering. One Afghan farmer lost nearly his entire family in the attack. |
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Will Massacre In Kandahar Be A Policy Tipping Point? The massacre in Kandahar province was the latest in a string of bad news out of Afghanistan, which may have shifted the dynamic between the Afghan people and the American-led army that has been occupying the country for a decade. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports on President Hamid Karzai's demand that U.S. troops leave Afghanistan's villages and withdraw to larger bases around the country. |
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Will Kandahar Massacre Be A Policy Tipping Point? The massacre in Kandahar province was the latest in a string of bad news out of Afghanistan, which may have shifted the dynamic between the Afghan people and the American-led army that has been occupying the country for a decade. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports on President Hamid Karzai's demand that U.S. troops leave Afghanistan's villages and withdraw to larger bases around the country. |
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No Major Violence In Afghanistan After Killings An Afghan government delegation came under fire when it traveled to the scene to express condolences, and there have been non-violent anti-American protests elsewhere in the country. |
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Afghan Lawmakers Call For Soldier's Trial There was outrage in the Afghan parliament on Monday over the murders of at least 16 civilians, apparently by a single U.S. soldier near the southern city of Kandahar. |
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U.S., Afghan Officials Sign Prison Agreement U.S. and Afghan negotiators appear to have cleared one major obstacle to a Status of Forces agreement that would govern the U.S. military presence in the country after NATO's drawdown in 2014. Friday's agreement resolves a dispute over control of Parwan prison where many Taliban suspects are detained. |
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For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard The Afghan security forces now include hundreds of women, but they can face significant risks. In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, policewomen say abuse is widespread and even includes rape by their male colleagues. |
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Reviewing U.S. Strategy In Afghanistan NPR's Quil Lawrence speaks with the American Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker about the U.S.- Afghanistan relationship. |
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After Quran Burnings, U.S. To Review Afghan Mission The deadly violence in Afghanistan over the burning of Qurans by the U.S. military has brought the American-led NATO mission to a crossroads. Among the dead have been four Americans - two of them by an Afghan policeman inside a supposedly highly secure government ministry building. The U.S. pulled all its advisers from those ministries. |
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U.S. Apology Fails To Stop Afghan Riots Two U.S. troops are shot dead by an Afghan soldier in a day of riots and protests across the country over Qurans that were burned. U.S. forces and Afghan authorities are braced for more trouble following Friday prayers at mosques nationwide. |
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U.S. Apology Over Qurans Fails To Stop Afghan Riots Two U.S. troops were shot dead by an Afghan soldier in a day of riots and protests across the country over Qurans that were burned. U.S. forces and Afghan authorities are braced for more trouble following Friday prayers at mosques nationwide. |
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Army Moves To Act Fast On Battlefield Brain Injuries Traumatic brain injuries are often caused by a blast: A bomb explodes, and the concussive effect violently shakes the brain. The Army has had a mixed record treating soldiers for TBI. Now it's trying to spot the injury close to the battle and get soldiers out of the fight. |
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Remembering 'Intrepid Storyteller' Anthony Shadid NPR foreign correspondent Quil Lawrence recalls his friendship with the New York Times reporter, who died Thursday at age 43, and the passion and sincerity that made him such a brilliant reporter. |
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Snowstorms Take A Toll In Afghan Refugee Camps Afghanistan is suffering an unusually harsh winter, and the government has been unable to meet the needs of the poor who lack proper shelter. The deaths of at least two dozen children have been blamed on the weather. |
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Afghans Hedge Bets Amid Mixed Messages From U.S. U.S. and Afghan officials have resumed talks on a deal that will determine how many American troops stay after the NATO mission ends. But until a deal is signed, it's hard for Afghans to know what's ahead, and the uncertainty may be helping the insurgents. |
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Afghans View Peace Talks With Hope, Suspicion The surprise announcement that the U.S. and the Taliban could soon begin peace talks in Qatar may have increased the chances of a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. But some Afghans wonder whether such talks are about stabilizing Afghanistan - or just helping U.S. troops leave. |
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Gains In Afghan Health: Too Good To Be True? A U.S.-sponsored mortality survey released last year found huge improvements in health across Afghanistan. But the improvements are so dramatic that experts, including several involved in the survey, question the findings. |
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In Afghanistan, Some Former Taliban Become Police NATO says it has greatly reduced the Taliban presence in the northern part of the country. But some Afghan officials aren't thrilled with the U.S. tactics, which include the creation of ad hoc militias. Some of the militia members used to be Taliban fighters. |
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Afghan Announcements Annoy U.S., Hurt Relations The U.S. relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai continues to worsen, after a series of announcements that appear designed to embarrass Washington. Karzai is angry that the U.S. appears to be bypassing him in key decisions and is eager to prove he isn't beholden to America. |
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U.S. Military Tests Out Green Tech In Afghanistan Saving money and lives, as well as improving national security, are the goals behind a U.S. military initiative to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. At one outpost in remote Afghanistan, Marines are using solar power; the Navy is also experimenting with biofuels. |
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For U.S. Troops, Fighting Starts At Afghan Border The focus of the war in Afghanistan is shifting to its border with Pakistan. Recent high-profile attacks were planned in Pakistan and carried out by militants who crossed through the mountainous border region. Now, the U.S. military is trying to stem that flow. |
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In Afghanistan, Dozens Dead After Suicide Bombings In Afghanistan, dozens died in bombings in Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The attacks targeted processions by Shiite Muslims on a major holy day. |
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For Afghan Women, Rape Law Offers Little Protection A recent U.N. report suggests that laws to protect women in Afghanistan from rape and forced marriage are still not being enforced. As NATO prepares to leave, concerns grow that women's rights will be further compromised. |
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U.S. Troops Monitor Volatile Afghan Province Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Quil Lawrence, who is embedded with U.S. forces in a volatile Afghan province near the Pakistani border. They discuss U.S. operations against the Taliban and Haqqani network, and the repercussions of last week's NATO airstrikes on an army border post that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. |
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U.S. Troops Monitor Volatile Afghan Border The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is at the center of controversy. Last week, NATO forces on the Afghan side fired across at what they thought were insurgents, and killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers. Officials are investigating. |
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Afghan Assembly To Discuss U.S. Relations The Loya Jirga, or grand assembly in Afghanistan, will gather 2,000 delegates from across the country to Kabul on Wednesday. The event has long been cast by opponents of President Hamid Karzai as the first step in his attempts to increase his power and perhaps extend his term beyond 2014. The Loya Jirga has no legal force, but with parliament suffering legitimacy problems, members of parliament fear Karzai is starting to establish an alternative over which he has much more control. The Jirga is supposed to consider a future strategic partnership with the U.S. as well as ways to re-start peace talks. |
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In Afghanistan, Assessing A Rebel Leader's Legacy Ten years ago, the most famous rebel leader in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, was killed by al-Qaida as the opening salvo for the Sept. 11 attacks. Revered by followers, Massoud had led the fight against the Taliban. |
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For Young Afghans, History's Lessons Lost? Afghanistan has probably changed more than any other country since the Sept. 11 attacks, and yet most young people have little knowledge of what happened that day, or how it led to the arrival of U.S. troops. |
