The stated goal of the Afghan conflict is to deny the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies a home base from which to attack targets in the West.

VOA: standard.2009.09.09

The Bush plan, which Russia strongly opposed, would have placed 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic to intercept long-range missiles from such states as Iran.

VOA: standard.2009.10.23

But a majority don't think it is going to work in terms of being able to stop terrorists there from using Afghanistan as a terrorist base to do terrorists acts against the United States."

VOA: standard.2009.10.09

That same Quinnipiac poll also found that by a margin of 59 to 34 percent, Americans believe that preventing terrorists from using Afghanistan as a base of operations is still a worthwhile goal for the United States.

VOA: standard.2010.07.30

He said the main goal must be to prevent the country from again becoming a base for terrorist attacks on the United States as it was in 2001,which he said requires preventing the Taliban from returning to power.

VOA: standard.2009.09.22

Officials in Georgia say troops at a tank battalion at the Mukhrovani base about 30 kilometers from Tbilisi staged a rebellion aimed at overthrowing the government and also disrupting Wednesday's start of NATO military exercises in the republic.

VOA: standard.2009.05.05

At the Chicago White Sox U.S.Cellular Field on Chicago's South Side, the 30-year-old pitcher retired all 27 batters from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays without allowing anyone to reach first base, pitching a perfect game and putting his name in a record book occupied by only 17 others in Major League history.

VOA: standard.2009.07.24

Peter Pham, Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Political Science and Africana Studies at James Madison University, says conditions in Somalia threaten security and stability of the Horn of Africa: "Even without toppling the TFG, al-Shabaab has already achieved a major objective by securing a territorial base from which like-minded militants and terrorists can carry out attacks elsewhere, especially against targets in the Arabian Peninsula as well as participating in the current violence against Somalis,".

VOA: standard.2009.06.26