Brzezinski Down on Idea of Afghan 'Surge'

Why is anyone still listening to McCain, Lieberman, and Graham?

(NEWSER) - The Three Amigos who pushed the invasion of Iraq are at it again, now claiming that we must escalate the war in Afghanistan if we want to avoid another 9/11—the same claim they used before to urge us to take on Iraq in 2003, Frank Rich writes. Rich finds it bizarre that anyone listens to John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham as they dust off and repurpose the talking points on Iraq, conflating the Taliban with al-Qaeda the same way they did Saddam Hussein's regime. More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan must roundly reject the so-called “minimalist” approach being whispered about in DC, write John McCain and Joe Lieberman in today’s Washington Post. The minimalists want the US to focus on limited, “realistic” counterterrorism goals. But McCain and Lieberman remind Obama that during the campaign he called Afghanistan “the war we must win.” More»

Candidates seem certain to pay for aisle-crossing tickets

(NEWSER) - With talk that John McCain and Barack Obama could pick Joe Lieberman and Chuck Hagel, respectively, to round out their tickets, liberal and conservative stalwarts tell Politico the aisle-crossing VPs would likely wreak havoc with the parties’ bases. While each has broken with his party on Iraq, Lieberman is far too socially liberal for Republicans, Hagel too far right for Democrats. More»

Stance on US vs. NATO troops appears to soften

(NEWSER) - John McCain suddenly switched both schedule and policy today, transforming a speech about jobs into one on Afghanistan, and echoing Barack Obama's argument for sending in new brigades. Obama has long said more troops are needed in Afghanistan, but McCain has repeatedly contended that NATO should pick up the slack, the Huffington Post reports. More»

Republican has been a vocal critic of the war

(NEWSER) - GOP national-security stalwart and longtime McCain friend Chuck Hagel will join Barack Obama on his upcoming trip to Iraq, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. The retiring Nebraskan senator has been a vocal critic of the war and the Bush administration. Despite his Republican credentials, he has been floated as a potential Cabinet member and as a long-shot VP choice for Obama. More»