<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xmlns:activity="http://activitystrea.ms/spec/1.0/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" ><channel><title>Newsvine - Christopher Torchia's Column - Articles and Seeds</title><link>http://ap-405.newsvine.com/</link><description>Newsvine - Christopher Torchia's Column - Articles and Seeds</description><language>en-us</language><copyright>Copyright 2010</copyright><lastBuildDate>Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:00:41 +0000</lastBuildDate><pubDate>Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:42:32 +0000</pubDate><generator>http://www.newsvine.com</generator><docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs><item><title>US soldier in Afghanistan has a dream</title><description><![CDATA[He proposed to her on Oct. 6, and she made him say "Will you marry me?" over and over because she liked the sound of it. He proposed again on her birthday four days later, and this time he got down on one knee with a diamond ring. His mother was on the phone, listening in as a witness.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/14/4016551-us-soldier-in-afghanistan-has-a-dream</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/14/4016551-us-soldier-in-afghanistan-has-a-dream</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>love</category><category>afghan</category><category>story</category><pubDate>Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:00:41 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/5a46de7e-4f69-40ba-9bfa-229cbb29e56b.jpg" width="75" height="56" /></item><item><title>Analysis: Hard part in Marjah has only just begun</title><description><![CDATA[EDITOR'S NOTE &#8212; Associated Press correspondent Christopher Torchia was embedded for four weeks with U.S. Army units supporting a U.S. Marines offensive against the Taliban in the Afghan city of Marjah. He reflects on the military operation and its implications for Afghanistan's future.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/04/3979027-analysis-hard-part-in-marjah-has-only-just-begun</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/04/3979027-analysis-hard-part-in-marjah-has-only-just-begun</guid><category>world-news</category><category>associated-press</category><category>as</category><category>of</category><category>analysis</category><category>meaning</category><category>marjah</category><category>christopher-torchia</category><category>of-marjah</category><pubDate>Thu, 4 Mar 2010 19:04:04 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/fa57bffa-efbc-445d-883c-aed92e90dcc8.jpg" width="75" height="49" /></item><item><title>Afghan: When shooting stops, some soldiers read</title><description><![CDATA[When he was a child, and it was bedtime and lights out, Gene Hicks would hide under the blankets and read with a flashlight. Now he's Army 1st Sgt. Gene Hicks, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, and sometimes lies in his sleeping bag reading with a flashlight.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/01/3963636-afghan-when-shooting-stops-some-soldiers-read</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/01/3963636-afghan-when-shooting-stops-some-soldiers-read</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>what</category><category>read</category><category>they</category><category>gene-hicks</category><pubDate>Mon, 1 Mar 2010 06:08:53 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/97521725-24f9-4507-8746-bf7b31f2a12e.jpg" width="75" height="112" /></item><item><title>Afghans give US soldiers a run for their money</title><description><![CDATA[The battalion commander pondered the question: How much is a tree worth?]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/26/3952877-afghans-give-us-soldiers-a-run-for-their-money</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/26/3952877-afghans-give-us-soldiers-a-run-for-their-money</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>price</category><category>a-fair-price</category><pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:49:20 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/2d051d04-14f3-4b93-bf26-8d67c0cfdfb6.jpg" width="75" height="50" /></item><item><title>Afghan: US bomb squad on the frontlines</title><description><![CDATA[Staff. Sgt. Joshua Rickert hasn't just seen "The Hurt Locker," the award-winning film about an American bomb disposal squad in Iraq. He's living it &#8212; in Afghanistan.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/24/3942890-afghan-us-bomb-squad-on-the-frontlines</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/24/3942890-afghan-us-bomb-squad-on-the-frontlines</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>bomb</category><category>hurt-locker"</category><category>seekers</category><category>joshua-rickert</category><pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:49:58 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/296211ec-ca16-43fd-9713-525a87aa1eec.jpg" width="75" height="105" /></item><item><title>In Afghanistan, Sunday Mass on a makeshift altar</title><description><![CDATA[The U.S. Army brigade's Catholic priest spits, smokes, cracks jokes and has come under fire like so many other American soldiers. He keeps altar bread in an empty grenade canister. On Sunday, he donned purple and white vestments over his uniform and celebrated Mass on a makeshift altar of four stacked boxes of MREs.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/22/3931840-in-afghanistan-sunday-mass-on-a-makeshift-altar</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/22/3931840-in-afghanistan-sunday-mass-on-a-makeshift-altar</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>priest</category><category>combat</category><pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:01:11 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/a4d753cc-5d40-471d-acb4-a4e756236665.jpg" width="75" height="48" /></item><item><title>Afghanistan battle shows war rarely fought to plan</title><description><![CDATA[The intelligence said a Taliban commander planned to dispatch a suicide bomber against an American patrol base. But where? Would more than one attacker strike? What day and time? On foot, or in a vehicle that would pack more explosives?]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/21/3932489-afghanistan-battle-shows-war-rarely-fought-to-plan</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/21/3932489-afghanistan-battle-shows-war-rarely-fought-to-plan</guid><category>world-news</category><category>war</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>unknowns</category><pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:13:55 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/384fcc5c-91ef-49a9-ab90-7f9584aa2824.jpg" width="75" height="111" /></item><item><title>US soldier's thoughts: wife, home, buddies, death</title><description><![CDATA[Spc. Jeremiah Butts tells a reporter his first name. "It felt good to say that."]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/20/3925440-us-soldiers-thoughts-wife-home-buddies-death</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/20/3925440-us-soldiers-thoughts-wife-home-buddies-death</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>soldier</category><category>story</category><category>jeremiah-butts</category><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:10:44 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/0dfd0e79-a848-4977-a396-b52b75ab706c.jpg" width="75" height="50" /></item><item><title>Mystery holes and angry ants: another Afghan day</title><description><![CDATA[The patrol set out before dawn, guided into the village by orange and purple glow sticks. By the end of the mission, some soldiers had come under fire. For another soldier, the closest thing to a battle was a confrontation with a swarm of angry ants.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/20/3924554-mystery-holes-and-angry-ants-another-afghan-day</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/20/3924554-mystery-holes-and-angry-ants-another-afghan-day</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>reading</category><category>minds</category><pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:24:00 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/9280db82-515a-40c1-912d-4445d8c30404.jpg" width="75" height="51" /></item><item><title>US compensates Afghans for death, damage from war</title><description><![CDATA[The fallout of war has a price in southern Afghanistan.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/19/3919331-us-compensates-afghans-for-death-damage-from-war</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/19/3919331-us-compensates-afghans-for-death-damage-from-war</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>time</category><category>payback</category><pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:52:10 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/cc3a07db-5588-4f24-8738-7258577a1327.jpg" width="75" height="50" /></item><item><title>Taliban armory: Rocks, potshots and drawings</title><description><![CDATA[The bullet made a zipping, or fizzing sound. American soldiers, relaxing beside their vehicles and backpacks without body armor or helmets, looked around, bewildered. A moment passed. Then another zip, fizz. And another.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/17/3907421-taliban-armory-rocks-potshots-and-drawings</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/17/3907421-taliban-armory-rocks-potshots-and-drawings</guid><category>world-news</category><category>war</category><category>as</category><category>of</category><category>afghan</category><category>ways</category><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:27:56 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/8ed8042b-ec06-49cf-bc52-fc43feb33e8e.jpg" width="75" height="50" /></item><item><title>In Afghanistan, a small step toward trust</title><description><![CDATA[A day after the battle, the elders came to talk.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/16/3902158-in-afghanistan-a-small-step-toward-trust</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/16/3902158-in-afghanistan-a-small-step-toward-trust</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>bets</category><category>hedging</category><pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:04:04 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/5c5b6207-a26a-43f5-853c-ddf2c1d3c5e0.jpg" width="75" height="111" /></item><item><title>Military medics try to keep Afghan boy alive</title><description><![CDATA[Two Afghan men on a motorcycle approached a makeshift camp of NATO and Afghan troops and unloaded a bundle of blankets. American soldiers went into combat mode, throwing on flak vests and helmets and grabbing their rifles. They feared it was a ruse &#8212; perhaps a suicide bomber moving in for the kill.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/15/3898621-military-medics-try-to-keep-afghan-boy-alive</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/15/3898621-military-medics-try-to-keep-afghan-boy-alive</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>boy</category><category>ordeal</category><category>two-afghan</category><pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:17:30 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/f0b69d33-d982-45ce-abcb-ceb080720cb4.jpg" width="75" height="51" /></item><item><title>Caught in the open: a firefight with the Taliban</title><description><![CDATA["Medic!" Bullets cracked through the dry grass. "Medic!"]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/14/3894325-caught-in-the-open-a-firefight-with-the-taliban</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/14/3894325-caught-in-the-open-a-firefight-with-the-taliban</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>fight</category><category>day</category><pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:32:29 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/645c0271-2434-4eda-a578-2e67b604387a.jpg" width="75" height="40" /></item><item><title>For roving US Army unit, Strykers are their homes</title><description><![CDATA[They call themselves gypsies, the men of Bravo Company.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/13/3893428-for-roving-us-army-unit-strykers-are-their-homes</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/13/3893428-for-roving-us-army-unit-strykers-are-their-homes</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>company</category><category>bravo-company</category><category>bedouin-company</category><pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:34:21 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/380245b4-7ac7-44f7-aa37-abd31781e98b.jpg" width="75" height="48" /></item><item><title>US troops fight, then work to win hearts, minds</title><description><![CDATA[As U.S. Marines fought Taliban insurgents down the road, Army 1st Lt. Daniel Hickok hunted Afghan men willing to repair an irrigation canal for cash.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/13/3890980-us-troops-fight-then-work-to-win-hearts-minds</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/13/3890980-us-troops-fight-then-work-to-win-hearts-minds</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>for</category><category>afghan</category><category>cooperation</category><category>cash-for</category><category>daniel-hickok</category><pubDate>Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:50:07 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/02c0c71c-937a-4e67-afa7-d03b49fde80a.jpg" width="75" height="50" /></item><item><title>Father and son: a legacy of war in Afghanistan</title><description><![CDATA[His father fought for the Soviet army in Afghanistan in the early 1980s. Now he is also in Afghanistan, fighting for the U.S. Army in another war, in a new generation.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/12/3886367-father-and-son-a-legacy-of-war-in-afghanistan</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/12/3886367-father-and-son-a-legacy-of-war-in-afghanistan</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>father</category><category>footsteps</category><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:58:03 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type></item><item><title>Afghan elders plea for quick attack on Marjah</title><description><![CDATA[U.S. and Afghan troops fought back small-scale attacks by Taliban fighters Friday on the northern outskirts of Marjah, as tribal elders pleaded for NATO to finish its planned attack on the Taliban stronghold quickly and carefully to protect civilians.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/12/3885935-afghan-elders-plea-for-quick-attack-on-marjah</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/12/3885935-afghan-elders-plea-for-quick-attack-on-marjah</guid><category>world-news</category><category>afghanistan</category><category>as</category><pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:01:22 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type></item><item><title>Wild West motif lightens US mood at Afghan base</title><description><![CDATA[Welcome to the O.K. Corral.]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/08/3868025-wild-west-motif-lightens-us-mood-at-afghan-base</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/08/3868025-wild-west-motif-lightens-us-mood-at-afghan-base</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>west</category><category>wild-west</category><category>motif</category><pubDate>Mon, 8 Feb 2010 05:55:48 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/5efa062f-7e25-43f4-a699-7404e5a12a86.jpg" width="75" height="48" /></item><item><title>Soldiers find time for hockey in Afghanistan</title><description><![CDATA["Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!"]]></description><dc:creator><![CDATA[Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer]]></dc:creator><link>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/04/3852504-soldiers-find-time-for-hockey-in-afghanistan</link><guid>http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/04/3852504-soldiers-find-time-for-hockey-in-afghanistan</guid><category>world-news</category><category>as</category><category>afghan</category><category>hockey</category><category>desert</category><pubDate>Thu, 4 Feb 2010 07:14:42 +0000</pubDate><activity:verb>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/post</activity:verb><activity:object-type>http://activitystrea.ms/schema/1.0/generic_post</activity:object-type><media:thumbnail medium="image" url="http://www.polls.newsvine.comhttp://www.polls.newsvine.com/_vine/images/ap/tn/f8759316-4a06-43ab-8e33-6864900eae69.jpg" width="75" height="53" /></item></channel></rss>