counter insurgency

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Obama Rethinks Afghan War
 Obama Rethinks Afghan War 
Sep 21, 2009 11:57 AM CDT

Obama Rethinks Afghan War

As President mulls change of tack, military wishes he'd mull a bit faster

(Newser) - With Gen. Stanley McChrystal's assessment in hand, President Obama is conducting a "very, very serious review of all options" in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports. The president, once confident in the plan to boost counterinsurgency efforts, now faces a game changed by last month's botched Afghan elections and eroding...

Go All In on Afghan War, McCain, Lieberman Say
Go All In on Afghan War, McCain, Lieberman Say
OPINION
Mar 19, 2009 7:16 AM CDT

Go All In on Afghan War, McCain, Lieberman Say

(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...

US Secretly Training Pakistani Commandos

Forces help troops to fight Taliban, al-Qaeda

(Newser) - Dozens of American military advisers and technical specialists are secretly working in Pakistan to train armed forces to battle the Taliban and al-Qaeda, reports the New York Times. The Special Forces soldiers are providing intelligence and advising the Pakistani military on combat tactics, although they are not conducting combat operations....

US Will Finance Afghan Militias
 US Will Finance Afghan Militias 
Dec 23, 2008 11:51 AM CST

US Will Finance Afghan Militias

Local security strategy echoes Iraq counterinsurgency strategy

(Newser) - The US will begin funding local militias throughout Afghanistan, an effort to re-create the successful counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Afghanistan historically has been known as a country where local communities took care of themselves,” explained the US ambassador. “The way to counter...

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons
Gates Poised
to Cut Pricey Weapons
Dec 10, 2008 4:05 AM CST

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons

He's ready to steer Pentagon to 'Wal-Mart approach'

(Newser) - Armed with Barack Obama's endorsement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is poised to change the Pentagon's pricey weapons priorities, reports the Los Angeles Times. Gates is expected to carve into expensive pending programs like the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems plan and high-tech fighter jets in favor of cheap, low-tech...

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'
 Afghanistan Is a
'Theme Park of Problems'
Analysis
Dec 2, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'

Obama has his work cut out for him

(Newser) - Winning in Afghanistan won’t be nearly as easy as Barack Obama hopes, military experts tell the New York Times. The president-elect has staked his national security reputation on Afghanistan, but the rural nature of the insurgency there will make it difficult to stamp out. “Afghanistan may be the...

Why Gates Should Stay —and Why He Shouldn't
Why Gates Should Stay
—and Why He Shouldn't
ANALYSIS
Nov 21, 2008 1:25 PM CST

Why Gates Should Stay —and Why He Shouldn't

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom has it that Barack Obama will ask Robert Gates to keep his post as Secretary of Defense, but there’s no conventional wisdom about how wise that is. “It has more minuses than pluses,” opines one ex-Pentagon official, but others disagree. Some pros and cons:
  • Gates
...

Resilient Taliban Drives Pakistan to Brutal Tactics

200,000 displaced in tribal regions as state battles militants

(Newser) - In the lawless Northwest Frontier Province, the Pakistani army has been fighting the Taliban for 3 months for control of just a sliver of land. State forces had expected the battle to be a cursory victory, but the Taliban is stronger and more deeply entrenched—literally, in a network of...

Iraq Cracks Down on US-Allied Sunni Fighters

US commanders fear reversal of hard-fought peace

(Newser) - Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has begun a crackdown on groups of US-backed Sunni fighters, the New York Times reports. The government fears the fighters, part of what is called the Awakening movement, could be waiting to turn their guns on Shiites. In several parts of the country senior members have been...

General's Iraqi Shift Mirrors US Strategy

Outgoing No. 2 evolved from aggressive tactics to nonlethal ones

(Newser) - Gen Raymond Odierno stepped down from his post as the No. 2 general in Iraq this week, having evolved from a proponent of heavy-handed tactics to a believer in nonlethal methods to win favor with Iraqis and reduce violence, the Washington Post reports. In a lengthy profile of the so-called...

Indignant NATO Allies Blast Gates' Critique

It's 'bloody outrageous,' says angry Brit official

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has sparked an uproar among America's allies after he complained to the Los Angeles Times that some NATO forces are unprepared for their jobs in Afghanistan. The Dutch, British and Canadians—who all have troops in the south of the country—immediately slammed the comments,...

11 Stories